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LIBRARY OF THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 

PRINCETON, N. J. 

Presented by 

Division 

Section 



,T53 



THE FIRST APOLOGY 



JUSTIN MARTYR 



THE FIRST APOLOGY 



OF 



lyzi 



^_ 



Justin Martyr, 



ADDRESSED TO THE EMPEROR 
ANTONINUS PIUS. 



PREFACED BY SOME ACCOUNT of the WRITINGS 
AND OPINIONS OF JUSTIN MARTYR, 

By JOHN^^KAYE, 

FORMERLY LORD BISHOP OF LLNXOLN. 




LONDON 
GRIFFITH FARRAN 0KP:DEN & WELSH 

NEWBERY HOUSE. CHARING CROSS ROAD 
AND SYDNEY 



[ The Rights of Translation and Reproduction are Reserved.^ 



EDITOR'S NOTE. 



The references in Bishop Kaye's Introduction are to the 
Paris Edition of Justin's Works, pubHshed in 1636. They 
have been collated afresh with a coi)y of that Edition in 



Sion College. 



Where these references are followed by another in brackets, 
it should be understood that such bracketed reference is to 
the page in our own translation, which is that of William 
Reeves, pubHshed in 1717. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAP. PAGE 

I. ON THE WRITiNGS OF JUSTIN MARTYR, .... I 

ir. THE OPINIONS OF JUSTIN RESPECTING THE AOrO:S AND 

THE TRINITY, }^ 

III. Justin's opinions respecting original sin, Tiiii free- 

dom OF THE WILL, GRACE, JUSTIFICATION, PREDESTF- 
NATION, 57 

IV. Justin's opinions respecting baptism and the eucha- 

RisT, wnii A particular reference to a passagf 

IN THE first apology, 63 

V. THE immortality OF THE SOUL — THE RESURRECTION OF 
THE BODY — THE MILLENNIUM — FUTURE JUDGMENT- - 
angels — DEMONS, "4 

VI, THE CONDITION OF THE CHRISTIANS IN TllK IIME OF 
JUSTIN, AND THE CAUSES OF THE RAP in DIFFUSION 
OF CHRISTIANITY, 

VII. THE HERESIES MENTIONED BY JUSTIN— MISCEI.LANKOUS 
OBSERVATIONS, •■..••" 



«3 



vlii Contents. 



cnAr. PAGE 

VIII. AN EXAMINATION OF THE QUESTION, WHETHER JUSTIN 

QUOTED THE GOSPELS WHICH WE NOW HAVE ? . . 97 



IX. CONTAINING ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE PRECEDING CHAPTERS 
FROM THE WRITINGS OF TATIAN, ATHENAGORAS, AND 
THEOPHILUS OF ANTIOCH, WITH ADDITIONAL RE- 
MARKS, 112 



These pages contain the substance of pa)'t of a Course of Lect^ires, 
delivered at Cambridge in the Lent Term of 1S21. 



THE FIRST APOLOGY OF JUSTIN MARTYR, . . (i) 



SOME ACCOUNT OF THE WRITINGS 



OF 



JUSTIN MARTYR. 



CHAPTER I. 

ON THE WRITINGS OF JUSTIN MARTYR. 

Among the Fathers, Justin Martyr is the earliest of whose 
works we possess any considerable remains. He marks the 
commencement of what may be termed the ecclesiastical, in 
contradistinction from the apostolic period. Hence the care 
with which his opinions have been examined, and the import- 
ance which has been attached to them. One party appeals to 
him as expressing the sentiments of the primitive Christians 
on some of the fundamental articles of our faith ; while 
another regards him as having exerted a most fatal influence 
over the interests of religion, by introducing into the Church 
a confused medley of Christianity and Platonism, to the 
exclusion of the pure and simple truths of the gospel. The 
object of the present work is to enable the theological student 
to pronounce between these contradictory representations, l\v 
laying before him an accurate account of Justin's opinions. 

It is not my intention to engage in the discusM\)n of the 



2 Some Account of the 

different hypotheses which have been framed respecting the 
chronology of Justin's life. The data are too few and too 
uncertain to justify us in coming to any decided conclusion. 
We know from himself ^ that he was born at Flavia Neapolis, 
in Samaria, of Gentile parents ; "^ and we are told by Eusebius,^ 
who refers to Tatian, Justin's scholar, that he suffered martyr- 
dom at Rome, in the reign of Marcus Antoninus.* One 
important circumstance, from its connexion with the history 
of his opinions, is that he had carefully studied the tenets of 
the different philosophical sects ; ^ having successively attached 
himself to the Stoics, the Peripatetics, the Pythagoreans, and 
the Platonists. To the last he manifestly gave the preference ; 
but, not deriving from any of them the entire satisfaction 
which he had expected, he was induced to examine and, 
having examined, to embrace Christianity; finding it, as he 
himself states, the only sound and useful philosophy.^ He 
appears, however, after his conversion, to have retained a 

1 Apol. i. sub initio. See also Apol. ii. p. 52 A ; Dial, p. 349 C. 
Ed. Paris, 1636. 

2 "Did we not see Christians in greater number and of greater sincerity 
from among the Gentiles than from the Jews and Samaritans." \u.urovi 
hf^eis ocuvrii <prXiiovoi; ts xa) a.Xnhffr'ipovi tov; II iheiJv rciv xvo 'lovdaiajv Kcci 
1ay.apiuv XpitrTtxvov; (uloTi;). Apol. i. p. 88 B (p. 65). See also Dial. 
pp. 226 A, 245 C, 348 C, 531 D. 

3 Eccl. Hist. 1. iv. c. 16. Tatian, Oratio ad Grcecos, p. 157 D. Ed. 
Paris, 1636. 

* See also Jerome in Catalogo. Dodwell, Diss. iii. in Irenaum, § 19, 
Diss. iv. § 34, supposes him to have suffered martyrdom in the year 149, 
at the age of thirty ; this inference he draws from an account, manifestly 
erroneous, given by Epiphanius, Har. 26 or 46. 

^ See the commencement of the Dialogue ivith Trypho ; and with 
respect to the Platonists, Apol. ii. p. 50 A. 

® T«UT»iv /novtiv tilpxTxav (piXaiTo<pieiv a,ff(pxXri ri xct) <rv/x^opov, p. 225 ^* 
Justin gives an interesting account of the manner in which he was induced 
to study the Prophetic Writings, by the arguments of an aged man, whom 
he accidentally met on the sea-shore, p. 219 E, and to whom he appears to 
allude, p. 241 B. " I will preach the Divine Word which I heard from 
that man." Knpv^u lyu hTov X'oyov, ov •zap' Iki'ivov l^xovffa, rov ocvOpo;. 



Writings of Jttstin Martyr. 3 

fondness for his former pursuits, which he evinced by con- 
tinuing to wear the philosophic habit. ^ 

Of the works printed in the Paris edition, it is now generally 
admitted that the Confutation of Certain Tenets of Aristotle, 
the Christian Questions to the Greeks, the Greek Questions to 
the Christians, the A?iswers to the Orthodox., the Exposition 
of the True Faith 7'especting the Trinity, the Epistle to 
Diognetus, and the Epistle to Zenas and Serenus, were not 
composed by Justin. The following circumstances induce 
me also to entertain doubts respecting the genuineness of 
the Hortatory Address to the Greeks. In p. 20 B,'^ where 
the author is endeavouring to show that Plato, having met 
with the writings of Moses in Egypt, had embraced the 
doctrine of the divine unity, but was deterred from openly 
declaring his sentiments by dread of encountering the same 
fate which befell Socrates, he mentions the appearance of God 
to Moses out of the burning bush, and speaks as if God had 
Himself appeared ; whereas Justin, not only in his Dialogue 
with Trypho, where he might be supposed to hold a different 
language from that in which he addressed the Gentiles, but in 
his first Apology,^ maintains that it was Christ AMio, on tliat 

1 Dialog, aim Try ph. p. 217 B, C. 

2 ''Therefore God, knowing that the false belief of polytheism, like a 
disease, disturbs men's minds, and wishing to abolish and overthrow it, 
when He first appeared to Moses, said to him, *I am that I am.' 
For it behoved, I think, the future prince and leader of the Hebrew 
people first of all to know the living God. Wherefore appearing to lum 
first, since indeed it was possible for God to appear to man, He saul t.. 
him, 'I am that I am.'" u'^^j toUv. i etl; r^v r« TcXvh.mrof f.n 

iiy. nu yup, clf.0^,, 'rh iipz^^r^ ^«J crrp^^rnyoy tov t^v 'E/J/.a/o.v yi.m i^i'f»> 

^uvi);, m h ^uv^riv iv^p^^c. ^a,mu> @to>, Uv ^ph ulr,., h'^ «'^' <> '-'• 

3 P. 96 B. (p. 80.) 



4 Some Account of the 

occasion, appeared to Moses. The account also of the origin 
of polytheism, which is given in p. 19 D, does not correspond 
with the statement in the second Apology. In the former 
passage,^ we are told that the serpent, when he assured our 
first parents that if they ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge 
they should be as gods, impressed them with the persuasion 
that there were other gods besides the Creator of heaven and 
earth ; and that they, retaining this persuasion after their 
expulsion from Paradise, transmitted it to their posterity. 
But in the latter passage ^ the statement is, that the angels, 
to whom God had committed the superintendence of this 
lower world, transgressing His commands, became connected 
with women ; and that from this intercourse sprang demons, 
who were the authors of idolatry and polytheism. The 
accounts of the Septuagint translation in p. 13 D, and in 
the first Apology^ p. 72 C (p. 39), do not appear to me to have 
proceeded from the same pen ; and in p. 21 C,^ the author of 

^ See also pp. 34 C, 36 C. In p. 32 B, the author says that the heathen 
were induced to represent their gods under human forms, by the statement 
in the Book of Genesis, that God made man in His own likeness after 
His image, from which they inferred that man is in form like unto God. 
" The book of Moses saying of the appearance of God, ' Let us make man 
in our image,'" etc. tj?? ykf Muffius IffTopias Ix Tpoau'Trov rod @iov Xiyoua-yn, 
'Xoin(fu(ji'iv ot,v6fw<ro'» kcct ilxovce. », r. I, See also p. 36 C. Compare this 
with the mode in which the same text is applied in the Dialogue with 
Trypho, p. 285 A. In the fragment of the Tract on the Resurrection, 
ascribed to Justin, the author applies this text to the fleshly man. ** For 
does not the Word say, f Let us make man in our own image, and after 
our likeness?' What? He clearly refers to the carnal man." ^ ya-p oh 
(ptiffiv "koyoi •xoino'ct)[/,iv kvSpuTtov kolt tixova '/iftiripav, xx) Ka,6 ofioiuffiv ', voiov ; 
^f)y.ovori tfocpKixov xiyn uvSpwrov. Grabe, Spicil, t. ii. p. 187. 

a P. 44 A. Compare Apol i. pp. 55 E (7), 67 D (30), 69 C {n). 

^ "There is a great difference between these according to the opinion 
of Plato himself. For the maker produces that which he makes, without 
the need of anything else ; but the creator constructs his work, having 
received the power of workmanship from his material." kkitoi -jroXXrn 
oix<popoi; IV TouToi; ovtrn;, holtk rhv aurou YlKuruvo; ho^ocv, o f/,\\i yap Toinrhs, 
eu}ivof iripov ^porltofAivo;, i« t?; iuutov ^vvci/uius xai i^avffins TrenT to "zrotouf^ivov 



■^^lltt. 



Writings of Justin Martyr. 



the Hortatory Address makes after Plato a distinction between 
7rot7;T>;s, "Maker," and SyjixLovpyos, "Creator" — words which 
Justin uses indiscriminately.^ To evade the inference drawn 
from these discrepancies, it may be said that Bishop Bull (Be/. 
Fid. Nic. sec. iii. chap. 2) has pointed out a coincidence of sen- 
timent in this work and in the second Apology, The author 
of the former says of Plato, that " having heard in Egypt that 
God, when He sent Moses to the Hebrews, said, ' I am that I 
am,' he (Plato) knew that God had not declared His proper 
name ; since no proper name can be assigned to God. For 
names are given for the purpose of describing and distinguishing 
things, inasmuch as they are many and various. But no one 
existed before God who could give Him a name ; nor did He 
deem it right to give Himself a name, inasmuch as He is one 
and alone; as He Himself testifies through His prophets, 
saying, ' I God am the first, and I am the last, and beside me 
is no other God ' (Isa. xliv. 6). On this account, therefore, as I 
said before, God, when He sent Moses to the Hebrews, did not 
mention any name; but mystically declared Himself to be the one 
and only God, by means of a participle, eyw yap ^ryo-ti' ciVt o 
wv, ' I, He said, am He that liveth.' " - With this passage Bull 

TO yiyvofcivov. 

1 Thus Apt. i. p. 57 A (p. 10), "With God the Father ami Creator 
of all things." (/.ito, &iov rov 'ttuvtuv ^XTpos Kou 'hfifJ^iovfyov. And p. 66 C 
(p. 28), "God the Creator of the universe." tov 'ra.yruv Toir.rh* «!'». 
See also pp. 60 C (16), 66 E (29), 70 A, B (35), 92 A (71). ^ ^ , , . 

2 axyiKo^s yap iv Alyv^rco tov @iov 7^ Muffri ilpuKivxi, lyu ilfi, «v, «T«»i*« 
•rpn; Tov;'Y,p>poc'iovi ccvtov i^o^rrU^uv 'iftiXXiv, 'iy^u en ov >ivp,ov o^of^it i»vr»ui 
Qilt -rpk cchr'ov 'i(pr,. cLTiv yup ovof^x W) Btod Kvp„Xoyi7<r6cct Iv^ccrif. ric ykf 
Ivifx-ccrcc US l^Xuxriv ku) ^.iyvaxnv r^v i*««£i^ev«v xurx, ^puyf^drc^v,^ TtXkm* 
««; ha.(popc,v ovT«v 0£« Se ol^ri '0 nhU cyof^cc -^pov^Tipx^^, oCri cthri; \»ut»j 




k'Xoar'iXXm ^pii rovs 'Efipcciou; rev M«««^ ^v^v„t«/, «aa« ./x .-v., ,^.,.^., ._- 



XKI (/.OVBV 



6 Some Account of the 

compares one in the second Apology} to which reference will 
hereafter be made, and which is as follows : " But no name has 
been given to the Father of all things, inasmuch as He is unbe- 
gotten ; for by whatever name any one is called, he must be 
posterior to him who gave the name ; and Father, God, Creator, 
Lord, Master are not names, but appellations given from His 
benefits and works. But His Son, who alone is properly called 
Son, the Word, Who was with Him before the creation, and 
begotten when in the beginning He created and adorned all 
things by Him, is called Christ, because He was anointed, and 
because God adorned all things by Him ; a name which also con- 
tains in itself an unknown signification ; like as the appellation 
' God ' is not a name, but the notion of an ineffable thing 
implanted in the nature of men." Between these passages 
there is undoubtedly one point of coincidence ; in both it is 
said that no name could be given to God, because no one 
existed before God to give the name. But here the coincidence 
ends. We have already observed the discrepancy respecting 
the Divine Person who appeared to Moses. We may add 
that the word KvptoXoyacrOaL, " to give God a name," are used 
in the former passage in a sense totally different from that in 
which Justin uses it in the Dialogue with Trypho^ where it 



^ ovofjbo, oi <Tu '^ra.vTcav 'Tfarfi 6itov, a.y'iVv/i'rw ov7i, oux iffriv ai yctp av XKi 
ovof/,aTi (f. ovo/xari ri;) -prpoffccyopivtiTXi, Tpifffovripov ix,^i 'S'ov 6ifjt,ivov to ovof/,a,' to 
Ti Hocrnp, xai &ios, xa) 'KTiffTViS, kou Kvpio;, xoci AiffToT'/js, ovk ovof^UToi iffriv, 
aXX IK Tuv tvToti'uv xa.1 tcjv 'ipywn "ffpoffp'/iffin. o di vlo; ixtivov, o /u,ovos ktyofiives 
KVpiui vto;, /.oyo? <rpo tuv 'Troirty.ai.Tuv xoti (xvvuv xoci yivvufjcivo?,, oti T>jy ocp^riv ot 
avTov TavTCi sxtio'i xu.\ ixofffji-viffi, "KpiffTos filv, xaTo, to xi^pi(r^ai xcti xoa'//,tio'cn 
TO. "^dvTct ^/ avTov Tov 0£ov, kiysTXi, o'vofix Koc) avTO -^Tipi's^ov a.yvua'Tov^ 
fftj/jtottTixv. ov TpoTov xu) TO @ios "^poffayoptvfici ovK ovof^ci iiTTiv, aXXcc Tpxyf^aTo; 
^vai^nyrsTov 'i/u,(puTos t>j (fivtni tuv uvSpu<ffuv Vo^/x,. P. 44 D. Compare Apol. 
i. pp. 58B(i2), 94D(i6). 

^ P. 277 B. " That besides the All- wise Father of the universe, another 
is called Lord by the Holy Spirit." 'oti xk) ^recpx tov voov/>e,ivov -roitiThv vuv 
ekuv eiXXos ti; xvpioXoyuTUi v'tto tov uyiov 9evivfji,a,To;, Compare also the USC 
of the word (toXoyilv in the Hortatory Address, p. 20 E, where it signifies 



Writings of Justin Martyr. 7 

signifies to apply the title ^^ Lord'^ to Christ. These circum- 
stances, though minute, appear to me to confirm the suspicions 
respecting the spuriousness of the work which Dupini seems 
to have formed from the difference between the style and that 
of Justin's acknowledged writings. I shall, therefore, in the 
following pages, confine my references to the two Apologies 
and to the Dialogue with Trypho ; the fragment of the 
Treatise on Monarchy, and the Address to the Greeks, whether 
genuine or not, affording nothing which can assist me in the 
prosecution of my present design. 

The first Apology, which stands second in the Paris edition, 
was addressed to Antoninus Pius, Marcus Antoninus, Lucius 
Verus, the Senate and the people of Rome. Authors differ 
respecting the date. Justin, in the course of the work, speaks 
of Christ as having been born one hundred and fifty years 
before,^ evidently using round numbers. There are allusions to 
the death and deification of Antinous,^ as to events which had 
recently occurred ; as well as to the revolt of Barchochebas ■* 
and the decree of Adrian,^ by which the Jews were forbidden 
to set foot in Jerusalem under pain of death. These notices, 
however, will not assist us in determining the precise year in 

to discourse on divine things^ to play the theologian, and in the Diahque 
with Trypho, p. 277 C, where it signifies to apply the title Siis to Christ, 

$/ oZv Mat ciXXov rivoi hoXeyiTv xa) KUpioXoyiTv to Wiv/ax to Syiov <pitr\ u/itif. 

It is used, however, in the former sense, p. 340 B. " You learn by dis- 
coursing on divine things why at first an A was added to the name 
Abram." akXa ^/a t/ jWSv iv ccX<px -rpuTCfi -TTpoaiTiSn tZ 'Afipaifi evi/ixTi 
hoXoyili. 

1 Bihliotheque, torn. i. p. 58. Casimir Oudin also expressed doubts 
respecting the genuineness of the work, De Script. Eccl. tom. 1. p. 187. 
His arguments are stated by the Benedictine editors in their preface, 
where the reader will also find their reasons for believing the work to 
be the same as that mentioned by Eusebius under the title of "iUyx'i^ 

"refutation." « „ „ t. / v 

2 P. 83 B (56). 3 p. 72 A (38). ' P. 72 E (39). » P. 84 B (59). 



8 V Some Account of the 

which the treatise was composed. DodwelP supposed it to 
have been written in the very commencement of the reign 
of Antoninus Pius, before Marcus Antoninus received the 
appellation of Caesar, because he is not designated by that title 
in the introduction ; but many critics, among them the Bene- 
dictine editors, place it as late as 150. The treatise itself 
highly deserves our attention, as the earliest specimen which 
has reached our times of the mode in which the Christians 
defended the cause of their religion. It is not remarkable for 
the lucid arrangement of the materials of which it is com- 
posed ; its contents, however, may be reduced to the following 
heads : — I. Appeals to the justice of the ruling powers, and 
expostulations with them on the unfairness of the proceedings 
against the Christians, who were condemned without any 
previous investigation into their lives or opinions, merely 
because they were Christians ; and were denied the liberty, 
allowed to all the other subjects of the Roman Empire, of 
worshipping the God whom they themselves preferred. ^ 
II. Refutations of the charges of atheism, immorality, dis- 
affection towards the Emperor, which were brought against the 
Christians.^ These charges Justin refutes by appealing to the 
purity of the gospel precepts, and to the amelioration produced 
in the conduct of those who embraced Christianity; and by 

^ Diss. iii. in Irenmim, § 14. See the Prolegomena to the Bibliotheca 
Veterum Paij'um^ Venice 1775, torn. i. c. I7> § !• 

Sub in. 54 D (4), 56 E (9), 68 D (32). Justin plays upon the words 
XpiffTos (Christ) and ;^/)^(7'toj (good), p. 55 A (5). He contends that the 
evil "lives of some professing themselves Christians ought not to be urged as 
an argument against Christianity itself, inasmuch as the same argument 
might be urged with still greater force against philosophy, 55 B (6), 
56 C (9). 

3 Tp. 56 B (8), 70 B (36), 58 E (13), 59 A (14), 60 C (16), 61 B (18), 
64 C (25), 78 B (47); yiJ>ol. ii. p. 51 B, In the second passage Justin 
seems to insinuate that the charges of gross sensuality and cruelty, which 
were falsely alleged against the orthodox, might possibly be truly alleged 
against the heretics. See Dodwell, Diss, in Iren. iv. § 26. 



Writings of Justin Martyr. 9 

stating that the kingdom to which Christians looked forward 
was not of this world, but a heavenly kingdom. III. Direct 
arguments in proof of the truth of Christianity, drawn from 
miracles and prophecy. With respect to the former, Justin 
principally occupies himself in refuting the objection that the 
miracles of Christ were performed by magical arts.^ With 
respect to the latter, he states in forcible terms the general 
nature of the argument from prophecy,^ and shows the accom- 
plishment of many particular prophecies ^ in the person of 
Jesus : inferring, from their accomplishment, the reasonable- 
ness of entertaining a firm persuasion that the prophecies yet 
unfulfilled — that, for instance, respecting Christ's second 
advent — will in due time be accomphshed.'* IV. Justin does 
not confine himself to defending Christianity, but occasionally 
becomes the assailant, and exposes with success the absurdities 
of the Gentile polytheism and idolatry.^ In further confir- 
mation of the innocuous, or rather beneficial character of 
Christianity, Justin ^ concludes the treatise with a description 

1 P. 72 A (38). 

2 P. 88 A (65) : "For what motive could ever possibly have persuaded 
us to believe a crucified man to be the first begotten of the unbegolten 
God, and that He should come to be the Judge of all the world, had we 
not met with those prophetic testimonies of Him proclaimed so long before 
His incarnation, and were we not eye-witnesses to the fulfilment of them?" 




X. T. t. 



See pp. 60 A (16), 72 B {38), and some remarks on the inter- 
pretation of prophecy, 76 D (45), ^i^^- ^^^ Trypli. p. 34| C. 

3 Among the prophecies specified are Gen. xlix., Ps. i. iii. xix. xxu. xcvi. 
ex., Isa. i. ii. vii. ix. xi. xxxv. 1. liii. Ixiv. Ixv., Micah v., Zech. ix. Sec 
from p. 73 to p. 2>^ (40-65). 

^ P. 87 A (62). 

* P. 57 C (11), where Justin speaks of the immoral lives of the artisans 
who were employed in making idols. 58 A (12), 67 A (29). In p. 93 I> 
(73), Justin observes that the most unlearned Christians were well instructed 
in the knowledge of divine things, 

•^ P. 93 D in). 



lo Some Account of the 

of the mode in which proselytes were admitted into the 
Church, of its other rites and customs, and of the habits and 
manner of Hfe of the primitive Christians. At the end of this 
treatise, in the Paris edition, is found a rescript of Adrian in 
favour of the Christians, as translated by Eusebius ^ from the 
Latin. Justin alludes to such a document towards the con- 
clusion of the Apology^ and its genuineness is generally 
admitted. There is, moreover^ an edict,^ addressed by 
Antoninus Pius to the Common Council of Asia, respecting 
which doubts are entertained; and a letter of Marcus Antoninus 
to the, Senate of Rome, ascribing his victory during the German 
War to the prayers of the Christian soldiers in his army. This 
letter is manifestly spurious. 

According to Eusebius,^ the second Apology was presented to 
Marcus Antoninus; but Pearson, and after him Thirlby, thought 
that it was addressed, as well as the former, to Antoninus 
Pius, relying on the passage in p. 43 B : " You do not think it 
fitting for a pious Emperor, nor for the son of a philosophic 
Caesar, nor for a sacred Senate." In the title it is said to be 
addressed to the Roman Senate ; in the beginning of the 
treatise, as it at present stands, we find the words " O 
Romans," and, subsequently, the expressions, " It is manifest 
to you," " I wish to know you." ^ But we also find, '' To thee, 
O Emperor,"^ from which we might be induced to suppose 
that it was addressed to the Emperor. It has been inferred, 
from the expectation expressed by Justin, p. 46 E, that he 

* Eccl. Hist. 1. iv. c. 9. 

^ See Lardner's Heathen Testimonies, c. 14. He defends its genuineness. 

' L. iv. c. 16. See the Note of Valesius on c. 17, and the Prolegomena 
to the Blbliotheca Veterum Patrum, torn. i. c, 17, § 3. We find in p. 46 C 
the expression, Maviruvtov Tt Iv roi; x.a.0^ hf^a.;, *' Musonius, who was among 
those who belonged to us," but it affords no clue to the date, 

* P. 47 C, B. 

P. 42 C. See also p. 47 B, fix(n>,i»ov y civ xx) rovro 'ipyav t'l'n, "and 
this also may be a kingly work." 



Writings of Justin Martyr. 1 1 

should become the victim of the artifices and calumnies of the 
philosopher Crescens, that he composed this treatise not long 
before his martyrdom. This is the statement of Eusebius, 
1. iv. c. 1 6. Lardner supposes that the beginning is lost; and 
it appears to be in other respects imperfect.^ It was occasioned 
by the punishment inflicted on three persons at Rome, whom 
Urbicus, the prefect of the city, had put to death merely 
because they were Christians. After exposing the gross in- 
justice of this proceeding, Justin rephes to two objections 
which the enemies of the gospel were accustomed to urge. 
The first was, " Why, if the Christians were certain of being 
received into heaven, they did not destroy themselves, and 
save the Roman governors the trouble of putting them to 
death ? " - Justin's answer is, that if they were so to act they 
would contravene the designs of God, by diminishing the 
number of believers, preventing the diffusion of true religion, 
and, as far as depended upon them, extinguishing the human 
race. The second objection was, " Why, if they were regarded 
by God with an eye of favour, He suffered them to be exposed 
to injury and oppression ?" •> Justin replies, that the persecu- 
tions with which they then were, and with which many virtuous 
men among the heathens had before been visited, origuiatcd m 
the malignant artifices of demons, the offspring of the apostate 
angels, who were permitted to exercise their power until the 
desi-ns of the Almighty were finally accomplished. Another 
obiection,^ of a difi-erent kind, appears to have been urged 
Uinst the Christians : that in exhorting men to live virtuously, 

1 '^ '. ^f,.'^(h'Au.:» "we have said before," "as we 

1 The words ^/..£^./*£v, «> ^foi^A(^.», we supposes 

have said before," occur pp. 43 D, 45 A, 46 Q 47 C Pear °^ "PP 
the references to be to the first Apology, pp. 58 B (12), 96 A (80) (perha, 
rather to 68 C (31) or 75 A (43)), §3 C (56^^ C (37)- 

" ^' 43 C- , ■ ^^ the difterent notions i.f 

belief that all actions are mdiffeient, and that 
nor punishments after death, p. 48 A. 



12 Some Account of the 

they insisted, not upon the beauty of virtue, but upon the 
eternal rewards and punishments which await the virtuous and 
wicked. Justin replies that these are topics on which every 
believer in the existence of God must insist, since in that belief 
is involved the further belief that He will reward the good and 
punish the bad. With respect to direct arguments to prove the 
divine origin of Christianity,^ that which Justin principally urges 
is drawn from the fact that no man ever consented to die in 
attestation of the truth of any philosophical tenets ; whereas 
men, even from the lowest ranks of life, braved danger and 
death in the cause of the gospel. Towards the conclusion of 
the tract,2 Justin states that he was himself induced to em- 
brace Christianity by observing the courage and constancy with 
which its professors encountered all the terrors of persecution. 

The Dialogue with Trypho was posterior to the first Apology^ 
to which it contains a reference ; ^ but with respect to the 
precise date, there is the same difference of opinion among 
the critics as in the case of the other treatises. Trypho says 
of himself* that he resided principally at Corinth, having 
been obliged to quit Judaea by the war which had just 
taken place ; in which passage he is usually supposed to 
allude to the revolt of Barchochebas ; though Dodwell ^ 

' P. 48 E. Compare Diet. p. 350 A. 

2 P. 50 A. Compare Tertullian's Apology, sub fin. 

^ P. 349 C : " For I had no regard for any of my people (I speak of 
the Samaritans), when I compelled Caesar by writing ; I spoke to lead 
those into error who trust in Simon Magus of their race, whom they 
say is God above all rule and power and strength." ovh\ yup ocvo toZ 

yivovg rov if/,iiu^ Xiyu 5s tuv 'Safia.ptuv, t/voj (ppovr/ox. Toiovfitvos, lyypa,(pu; 
Keiiaapi Tpoffofx.iXuv, t'lTTov vXa.Mora&ex.t uvrov; 'ffit^of/,ivov$ <ru iv rai yivn avrajv 
fxu.yui l'if/.u)Vi, ov &iov vTspuvu Tectryi; ocpx^i' "*'' l^ovffixs kou ouvafziu; s'lvoci 

Xiyoviri. See A/>ol. i. p. 69 D (33). Compare also A/>o/. ii. p. 52 A. 

* P. 217 D. Compare p. 227 A. 

^ Diss. Iren. iii. § 14, iv. § 42. See the Bihliotlieca Vetcrum Patnivi^ 
torn. i. c. 17, § 2. 



Writings of Justin Martyr. 13 

thinks that the allusion is to a revolt mentioned by Julius 
Capitolinus in his Life of A?ito?ii?ms Fius.^ Scaliger inferred, 
from the words, "The war that has just taken place," that the 
Diaolgue was composed during the reign of Adrian. But even 
if we interpret the word vvv strictly, the fair inference is that 
the dialogue then took place, not that it was then committed 
to writing,^ which was done some time afterwards for the in- 
formation of Justin's friend, Marcus Pompeius.^ The revolt of 
Barchochebas, however, must have been finally suppressed 
before the dialogue took place, since there is a reference ^ to 
the decree of Adrian, by which the Jews were prevented from 
going up to Jerusalem, and they are said no longer to have 
possessed the power of persecuting the Christians. The word 
vvv must consequently be interpreted with some degree of 
latitude. Some critics have suspected that Justin's Jew is a 
fictitious personage, or at least that no such dialogue actually 
took place ; nor are there wanting circumstances which give 
countenance to the suspicion. The introduction looks like an 
imitation of the introductions to Plato's dialogues, and to the 
philosophical dialogues of Cicero. It is difficult also to con- 
ceive that Justin would have ventured in a real dialogue ^ upon 

^ C. 5- ' . . , 

2 Justin mentions in p. 306 D his intention of committing the conversa- 
tion to writing, in order to convince the Jews that he really entertained 
the sentiments which he had expressed; and that he did not put them 
forth merely for the purpose of making converts of Trypho and his friends. 
From more than one passage it appears that Justin did not put down all 
that was actually said. See pp. 229 A, 278 B, 356 B, 357 K. 

3 P. 371 B. Who this ^larcus Pompeius was is unknown. Thulby, 
not without reason, ridicules Grabe's conjecture that he was a bishop of 
Jerusalem. 

4 P. 234 A, C. T 1 r» 
^ I allude particularly to his derivation of the words Israel, p. 354 1^. 

and Satan, p. 33r B. Jones, however, infers from the latter denvaUon 

that Justin was acquainted with the Syriac. On the Canon, Part I. c. 16, 

Thirlby contends that Justin was acquainted with the Hebrew, or rather 

that these derivations do not prove the contrary. Note on p. 331 1^- 



14 Some Accotint of the 

the interpretation of Hebrew words which sometimes occur ; 
or if he had so ventured, that his opponents would have 
allowed them to pass uncontradicted. The suspicion, how- 
ever, had never occurred to Eusebius,i who assigns Ephesus 
as the scene of the dialogue ; and Le Nourry thinks that he 
discovers in the interruptions, digressions, etc., proofs of its 
reality. Whether it was real or not is immaterial to our pur- 
pose, which is only to ascertain what were Justin's opinions. 
If it was real, it occupied two days ; on the latter of which 
some Jews were present, who did not hear the former day's 
disputation, and on whose account Justin repeats several argu- 
ments which he had before urged. ^ The part containing the 
end of the first and the beginning of the second day's dis- 
putation is lost, as is proved by the references,^ found in the 

1 Hist. Eccl. 1. iv. c. i8. See p. 237 C. 

2 See pp. 304 A, 311 D, 320 B, 322 B, 346 D, 351 A, 352 E. The 
name of one of those who were present only on the second day was 
Mnaseas, p. 312 B. 

^ See pp. 306 A, D, 333 A, 364 A. See, however, pp. 288 E, 291 D, 
and Grabe's remark, Spicil. tom. ii. p. 162. The Benedictine editors 
deny that there is anything wanting, and account for these appearances 
by saying that, as Justin wrote down his conversation with Trypho from 
memory, he sometimes forgot to insert passages to which he afterwards 
referred, supposing that he had inserted them. 

It has been remarked to me that I was, in the former edition of this 
work, guilty of an omission in taking no notice of the doubt cast upon the 
genuineness of the Dialogue with Trypho by Wetstein, in the Prolegomena 
to his edition of the Greek Testament. I will now, therefore, supply that 
omission. Wetstein's words are — " Ego vero cuperem mihi eximi scrupu- 
lum de hujus Dialogi auctore ex diligenti ejus lectione injectum, nimirum, 
quod non utalur in Veteris Testamenti locis citandis Versione Tu^t o\ sed 
magis accedat ad Origenis Editionem Hexaplarem ; quum quge Origenes 
obelis jugulavit omittat, quibusque asteriscos apposuit addat etiam : quum 
idem in Daniele alia Versione, nescio an Symmachi, utatur. Si Justinus 
mortuus est, antequam Symmachi atque Theodotionis Versio ederetur, et 
si integro sseculo prsecessit Origenem, quomodo potuit istius opere uti ? 
aut si non usus est, quomodo potuit accidere ut prorsus eadem verba 
iisdem in locis adderet vel denieret, ubi ille vel asteriscis quid vel obelis 
significaverit ? Quare de hoc auctore quid statuendum sit, doctiores 



Writijigs of Justin Martyr, \ 5 

latter part of the dialogue, to arguments and quotations which 
no longer appear. 

viderint ; mihi rem compertam proposuisse sat est." In the eighth chapter 
of this work I have shown that Justin frequently quoted from memory. 
No inference, therefore, unfavourable to the genuineness of the Dialogue, 
could be drawn from the want of agreement between his quotations and 
the present text of the Septuagint version, even if that text accurately 
represented the text as it stood in his day. But that is not the case. It is 
admitted on all hands that we possess no pure copy of that version as it 
existed before the time of Origen. Although, therefore, Justin's quota- 
tions differ from the present text, they may have agreed with the text of 
the edition of the Septuagint version (>i Kotrh) generally used in his time. 
The same remark applies to the Hexaplar edition, as corrected by Origen : 
we possess v^o pure copy of that edition, and cannot infer from the agree- 
ment of Justin's quotations with the present Hexaplar text that they 
agreed with that text as framed by Origen. On the supposition, then, that 
Wetstein's statements were correct, they would afford very slight ground 
for questioning the genuineness of the Dialogue, ascribed, as it is, expressly 
to Justin by Eusebius, and containing, as it does, many internal marks of 
genuineness. 

But M. Krom, minister of the Church, and Professor of Ecclesiastical 
History in the College of Middleburgh, in a tract published in 1778 (for 
the use of which I am indebted to the kindness of Professor Jeremie of 
the East India College) denies the correctness of Wetstein's statements. 
He examines several of Justin's quotations, particularly a very long one 
from Isaiah lii., liii., liv., and shows that they agree in general with 
the present text of the Septuagint version, even in places in which it 
differs widely from the versions of Symmachus and Thcodotion ; and that 
neither are the words marked with asterisks in the Hexaplar edition gene- 
rally inserted, nor those marked with obeli omitted. Thus that which 
Wetstein denominates res comperta proves, on a more accurate examina- 
tion, to be contrary to fact. 

M. Krom, however, admits that Justin's quotations do occasionally 
differ from the present text of the Septuagint, and assigns several causes 
from which the difference may have arisen. Justin may have either quoted 
from memory, or, satisfied with representing the sense of the passage, may 
have been careless about the words; or, as I have already suggested, the 
text of the Septuagint version which he used may have differed from the 
present text. One remarkable instance of such a difference occurs, p. 
348 E, where Justin affirms that in the Greek version used by the Jews 
the reading of Gen. xlix. 10 was 'U «v 'Uh rk «^«*n>.v« «ur<v, " until 



1 6 So7ne Account oj the 

The remark which was made upon the first Apology applies 
equally to this work : it is not perspicuously written, and we 
have difficulty in discovering the train of the author's reasoning. 
After an introduction/ in which Justin gives an account of the 
manner of his conversion to Christianity, and earnestly exhorts 

that which is in store (Shiloh) come," whereas the reading of the Septuagint 
was 'iwi av 'ixSri u a.-yroKHTui, " until that which is in store for him shall come."^ 
In our present text, however, the reading is not u a,-}roxurect, but t« uTOKUf^ivcx. 
uvTu. The passage is twice quoted in the first Apology, and in both instances 
the reading is o (manifestly an error of the transcriber) ocroKurai. Another 
consideration which ought to render us diffident in drawing conclusions from 
Justin's quotations is, that in his writings, as well as in those of the other 
Fathers, the transcribers appear frequently to have corrected his quotations 
by the text of the Septuagint version which they used. This circumstance 
will account for the instances in which words marked with asterisks in the 
Hexaplar edition are inserted, or words marked with obeli omitted. 

With respect to Justin's quotations from Daniel, if (as we suppose) he 
quoted the edition of the Septuagint then generally used, his quotations 
could not but differ from our present text, wliich is not the text of the 
Septuagint, but of Theodotion. M. Krom, however, denies the existence 
of that close resemblance between Justin's quotations and the version of 
Symmachus, which Wetstein professes to have found ; and states that they 
approach more nearly to the readings of the version which was published, 
under the title Daniel secundum Septuaginta ex Tetraplis Ofigenis, from 
the Codex Chisianus. Justin more than once refers to a Greek version 
used by the Jews, pp. 353 C, 360 C, 367 A, and supposed by some to be 
the Version of Aquila. In some instances he probably adopted its read- 
ings : Symmachus, in framing his version, may have done the same ; and 
we may thus account for any occasional agreement which may be found 
between Justin's quotations and the version of Symmachus. The con- 
clusion, therefore, at which we arrive is, that Wetstein's statements are 
incorrect ; and that, even if they were correct, they would furnish very slight 
grounds for questioning the genuineness of the Dialogue with Trypho. 

Wetstein appears, on nearly similar grounds, to have cast doubts on the 
genuineness of nearly the whole of Philo's works. He was answered by 
Wesseling in an Epistle to Herman Venema de Aquila in scriptis Philonis 
Judcei fragmctttis, published in 1 748, which has not fallen in my way. 

The editor of the Bibliotheca Veterum Patrum has also examined 
Wetstein's objections in his Prolegomena. 

* From the beginning to p. 225 D. 



Writings of Justin Martyr. 1 7 

Trypho to toUow his example, Trypho replies to the exhorta- 
tion by saying that Justin would have acted more wisely in 
adhering to any one of the philosophical sects to which he had 
formerly been attached, than in leaving God, and placing all 
his reliance upon a man.^ In the former case, if he lived 
virtuously, he might hope to obtain salvation ; in the latter, he 
could have no hope. His only safe course, therefore, was to 
be circumcised, and comply with the other requisitions of the 
Mosaic law. Justin answers that the Christians had not 
deserted God, though they no longer observed the ceremonial 
law.^ They worshipped the God who brought the forefathers 
of the Jews out of the land of Egypt, and gave the law, but 
who had plainly declared by the prophets that He should give 
a new law — a law appointing a new mode of purification from 
sin by the baptism of repentance and of the knowledge of 
God^ — and requiring a spiritual, not a carnal circumcision.^ 
The ceremonial law^ was in truth given to the Jews on 
account of the hardness of their hearts as a mark of God's 
displeasure at their apostasy when they made the golden calf 

1 P. 225 D. Trypho admits that he did not believe the horrible 
charges brought against the Christians ; and says that the morality of the 
gospel was of a character so sublime that no man could live up to it, 
p. 227 B. 

2 P. 227 E. One objection urged against the Christians was, that they 
drank hot drinks on the Sabbath. See Thirlby's Note, p. 246 E. 

3 P. 229 D. See pp. 251 C, 287 C, 292 B, 351 B. 

4 Pp. 229 C, 233 D, 235 E, 236 C, 245 D, 261 D, 341 A, 342 A, 366 D. 
Justin states that one design of the rite of circumcision was to distinguish 
the Jews from other people, particularly in the latter times, when they 
were to suffer the punishment decreed against them for crucifymg the 
Messiah, pp. 234 A, 236 B, 238 A, where he quotes Ezek. xx. 19, p. 
366 E. Christians had the true circumcision, that of the heart, p. 320 A. 
The Jews affixed a carnal meaning to all the ordinances of the law, 

^' ' Pp. 235 E, 237 A, 244 C, E, 263 E, 265 B, 291 D. In p. 247 A, 
Justin seems to contend that the reasonableness of the ceremonial law 
can only be maintained on this supposition. In p. 263 A, he says that 



1 8 Some Account of the 

in Horeb. All its ordinances, its sacrifices, its Sabbath, the 
prohibition of certain kinds of foods, were designed to 
counteract the inveterate tendency of the Jews to fall into 
idolatry. 1 If, says Justin, we contend that the ceremonial 
law is of universal and perpetual obligation, we run the 
hazard of charging God with inconsistency, as if He had 
appointed different modes of justification at different times ; 
since they who lived before Abraham were not circumcised, 
and they who lived before Moses neither observed the Sabbath,- 
nor offered sacrifices, although God bore testimony to them 
that they were righteous. Having, as he thinks, satisfactorily 
proved that the ceremonial law is no longer binding, Justin 
replies to an argument urged by Trypho, that the prophecy of 
Dan. vii. 9 taught the Jews to expect that the Messiah would 
be great and glorious ; whereas the Messiah of the Christians 
was unhonoured and inglorious, and fell under the extreme 
curse of the law — for He was crucified. Justin's answer is,^ 

some parts of the law were designed to enforce piety and justice ; others 
referred mystically to Christ ; others were directed against the hardness of 
heart of the Jews. In p. 263 E, he distinguishes between the authority of 
the natural and ritual law ; in p. 292 C, between that which is of per- 
petual and universal obligation (ra; alavias ko.) (pviru ^ixxio^pa^iet; Kct) 
ivffifiiixs, p. 266 B ; ra a,]u'\ta, ^r^cx,iojf/.a.rce,, p. 264 D) and that which was 
merely directed against the perversement of the Jewish people. In p. 
320 E, he refers to the (pv(riKa) iwoioci, the sense of right and wrong 
implanted in our nature. See Apol. ii. p. 52 A. 

^ P. 240 E. See also pp. 236 C, 245 B, 261 C, 265 A, 292 A, 319 C, 
320 B. 

- It has been inferred, as it appears to me erroneously, from Justin's 
reasoning in this passage, that he believed the first institution of the 
Sabbath and of the rite of sacrifice to have taken place during the so- 
journing of the Israelites in the wilderness. I conceive him to have alluded 
to the peculiar sacrifices of the Mosaic law, and to the peculiar mode in 
which the Jews kept the Sabbath. In p. 236, he speaks of the sacrifices 
offered by Abel. 

2 P. 249 C. See also pp. 232 D, 245 D, 247 E, 268 B. Jj>o/. i. p. 
87 A (p. 63). Justin refers, in proof of the twofold Advent, to Ps. ex., which 
the Jews interpreted of Hezekiah, pp. 250 D, 309 L ; to Ps. Ixxii., which 



Writings of Jitsti^i Martyr. 19 

that the Scriptures of the Old Testament speak of two ad- 
vents of the Messiah, — one in humiliation, the other in glory ; 
though the Jews, blinded by their prejudices, looked only to 
those passages which foretold the latter. He then proceeds 
to quote passages of the Old Testament ^ in which the Messiah 
is called God and Lord of hosts. In this part of the Dialogue 
Justin extracts from the Old Testament several texts in which 
he finds allusions to the gospel history. Thus the Paschal 
Lamb was a type of Christ's crucifixion ; 2 the offering of fine 
flour for those who were cleansed from the leprosy was a 
type of the bread in the Eucharist ; ^ the twelve bells attached 
to the robe of the high priest, of the twelve apostles.'^ 

Justin next undertakes to prove that the various prophecies 
respecting the Messiah were fulfilled in Jesus.^ But having 
quoted Isa. vii. to prove that the Messiah was to be born of a 
Virgin,*^ he first runs into a digression caused by an inquiry 

they interpreted of Solomon, pp. 251 D, 288 D ; to Gen. xlix., pp. 271 C, 
272 C ; iMicah iv., p. 336 A, which the Jews themselves applied to the 
Messiah. Justin speaks of the personal appearance of Christ as mean — 
an opinion derived from the literal interpretation of Isa. liii. 2, 3, pp. 
255 C, 326 E, 316 C, 311 A. The two goats mentioned in Lev. xvi. 7 
were also types of the two Advents, pp. 259 D, 338 A. 

1 He refers to Ps. xxiv., p. 310 E, which the Jews applied to Solomon, 
p. 254 E, or to Hezekiah ; Ps. xlvii. and Ps. xcix., p. 255 D, E ; Ps. xlv., 
p. 256 E. Justin also founds an argument on the fulfilment of the pre- 
dictions of Christ Himself respecting the false prophets who would come 
in His name, p. 253 B. 

2 P. 259 B. ^ P. 259 E. 

* P. 260 D. Ex. xxxix. 25. The number of bells is not mentioned. 

5 Trypho had called upon Justin to give this proof, pp. 254 C, 258 E. 
It was impossible, he contended, that a crucified man should have con- 
versed with Moses and Aaron, p. 256 C. 

^ P. 262 A. The Jews contended that the word translated •ra/><'ava,-, 
"virgin," ought to be translated veSv/j, " yoimg woman," and applied the 
prediction to Hezekiah, pp. 291 A, 294 A, 297 D. See also p. 310 C, 
where Justin contends that the mere fact of a young woman giving birth 
to a son could not be deemed a sign. 



20 Some Account of the 

from Trypho,^ whether Jews, who led holy hves, like Job, 
Enoch, and Noah, but observed the Mosaic law, could be 
saved ; and afterwards into a second digression, occasioned by 
a remark of Trypho that the Christian doctrine ^ respecting the 

^ P. 263 C. 

2 P. 267 B. Trypho here expressly asserts that the Jews expected in 
their Messiah a mere man whom Elias was to anoint. " For we all look for 
Christ the man born of men, and Elias who will anoint Him." xai ykf -rcivTts 
VjU.s7s Tov Xpt(TTOV ccv^p&i^ov it o.vSfU'pfwi <ffpo(rooKol)[/,iv yivri(Tiff6ai, kx) tov 'HX/av 
XP'O'xi alrov ixSovra.. P. 268 A. Allix, in his Judgment of the Jeivish 
Chmxh, c. 25, sub in., had remarked that this was Justin's representation 
of the expectation of the Jews in his day. ** A greater objection," he 
says, "than all these may be very naturally made by a judicious reader, 
concerning what I said of the testimonies of the Jews before Christ 
about the distinction of the divine Persons and the divinity of the A'oyos. 
On the one side may he say, you own that the Jews after Christ have 
opposed the doctrine, as being contrary to the unity of God ; there are 
plain proofs of it, even in the second century. And it is certain that 
Trypho did not believe that the Messiah was to be any other than a mere 
man, and so did the Jews believe, as it is witnessed by Origen, lib. ii. 
contr. Cels. p. 79." Burgh also had spoken of Trypho as arguing in the 
very spirit of modern Unitarianism, vol. i, p, 86. Yet I find in Dr. 
Burton's Testimonies of the Ante-Nicene Fathers, p. 41 (2nd ed. p. 47), 
the following statement: "Justin, Dial, cum T7ypho, c, Ixviii. p. 166, 
Ed. Bened. The next passage is important, as showing the opinion which 
the Jews entertained concerning their Messiah. Justin's words are these : 
* As to the Scriptures which we quote to them (the Jews) which expressly 
prove tnat Christ was to suffer and to be worshipped, and that He is God, 
they are compelled to allow that these were spoken concerning Christ, but 
they have the presumption to say that this (Jesus) is not the Christ ; but 
they acknowledge that He was to come, and to suffer, and to be a King, 
and to be worshipped as God. ' 

" According to the opinion of the Jews, therefore, who ought to be the 
best interpreters of their own prophecies, the human nature and the 
humble condition of Jesus were not the obstacles to their believing Him to 
be the Messiah ; and it was their belief, as it is that of Christians, that the 
Messiah, who was to come, was God. Dr. Priestley was, therefore, entirely 
at variance with Justin Martyr when he said ' that the Jews expected 
that their Messiah would be a mere man, and even be born as other men 
are.* If Justin reported the opinion of the Jews fairly, their expectations 
concerning the Messiah were directly opposite to these." (In his second 



Writings of Justin Martyr. 2 r 

pre-existence and divinity of Christ, and His subsequent 
assumption of humanity, was monstrous and absurd. 

edition the learned author adds, " And a remarkable expression of Philo- 
Judseus may be quoted in this place, who, when he is speaking of the 
repugnance felt by the Jews to pay divine honours to Caligula, observes, 
that they would more easily believe that God would change into man than 
a man into God.") " Origen, however, certainly says that all the Jews 
did not expect their Messiah to come as God or Son of God. "We may 
observe also that in this and other places already quoted (see No. 25, p. 37, 
2nd ed. p. 42) Justin expressly says that Christ is to be worshipped &s God ; 
and yet he as plainly says in many places that there is only one God. 

** Justin's arguments in this chapter arise from the following remark of 
Trypho, who said to him, ' You are attempting to demonstrate a thing 
which is incredible and almost impossible, that God submitted to be born, 
and to become man.' Justin, however, acknowledges the proposition, and 
proceeds to demonstrate it." 

In the above statement there are several particulars in which I must be 
permitted to dissent from the learned author. I cannot allow that the 
Jews ought to be the best interpreters of their own prophecies : if so, we 
Christians are sadly in error. But perhaps the learned author meant to say 
that the Jews ought to be the best interpreters of the meaning which they 
the?nselves affixed to their own prophecies. Again, I cannot allow that, 
according to Justin's representation of the opinions of the Jews in his day, 
the humble cojidition of Jestis was not an obstacle to their believing Him 
to be the Messiah. In p. 249 B is the following passage : KaJ Tpv(puv, 
•ravffxfiivov fiov, uTiv, u civ^pwri, avrai hf^xi cti 'ypa,(pa.) »x) Toiocvrxt ivoo^ay 
xu) fiiyav avaf/.ivsiv, rov 'Tccpx rov ^aXxtoZ ruv Tifupcuv u; viov at^pcoTov ■rctpx- 
Xafjcfhavovroc, rhv uluviav (ieciriXiiccv, avwyxd^ouirtv' outo; oi vf^iripos XiyofMVi; 
XpiffTo; SiTifio; Ktx.) cc^o^o; ytyovtv, us xai rn Itry^^urri xaroipa rri Iv vm vo(/,m tou 
esou -^ipi-riinTv iffTavpcoSyi yap. "And Trypho, when I concluded, said, 
these and similar passages of Scripture compel us to look for a glorious 
and great personage, who, as the Son of man, is to receive an eternal 
kingdom from the Ancient of Days : whereas He whom you call Christ was 
unhonoured and inglorious, so as even to fall under the extreme curse of the 
law ; for He was crucified." Justin, in answer to this objection, proceeds 
to show at considerable length that the prophets speak of two Advents of 
the Messiah ; the one in humiliation, the other in gloiy. Surely he might 
have spared himself this trouble, if he had not supposed that the humble 
condition of Jesus was an obstacle to His being received by the Jews as 
their Messiah. 

Lastly, notwithstanding the ler.rned author's statement, I must still 



2 2 Some Account of the 

One argument urged by Trypho,^ in order to prove that Jesus 
was not the Messiah, is that EHas, who, according to the pro- 
adhere to the opinion expressed by Allix, ' ' that Trypho, " whom Justin brings 
forward as representing the Jews of his day, "did not believe that the Messiah 
was to be any other than a mere man." I observe that Justin takes con- 
siderable pains to prove that the ancient prophets have applied the titles of 
God and Lord of hosts to the future Messiah (see p. 254 E, et sequ. ). 
This was surely an unnecessary waste of time and labour, if the prevalent 
belief of the Jews of his day was that the Messiah, who was to co?ne, was 
God. To what purpose does Trypho quote Isa. xlii. 8 (p. 289 B), but in 
order to prove the absolute unity of God, in opposition to Justin's assertions 
respecting the divinity of the Messiah? But to remove all doubt on the subject, 
let us consider the whole passage from which the sentence at the commence- 
ment of this note is an extract. Trypho thus addresses Justin, ocvctXafhuv 
ovv K. T. »., p. 267 A. " Finish your argument, -taking it up from the point 
where you left off; for to me it appears strange and wholly incapable of 
proof." (May I suggest to the learned author, on whose remark I am 
commenting, the propriety of reconsidering the translation of this sentence 
in p. 39 N, 27 ? I observe that it is allowed in his second edition, p. 45.) 
" For that you should say that this Christ existed, being God, before all 
ages, and then submitted to be born and to become a man, and that He 
was not a man born of man, appears to me not only strange, but foolish." 
Justin replies, '* I know that this doctrine appears strange, and especially 
to those of your race, who, as God Himself exclaims, were never willing 
either to understand or do what God prescribes, but listen only to your 
own teachers. But, even if I cannot show that this Jesus pre-existed, 
being God, the Son of the Maker of the universe, and became man born 
of the Virgin, even then it does not follow that He is not the Christ of 
God. But as I have shown that He, whoever He may be, is the Christ of 
God, though I may not have shown that He pre-existed and submitted, in 
compliance with the will of His Father, to be born a man, subject to like 
passions with us, and having flesh, you ought to say that I am mistaken 
only in this (latter) respect, but ought not to deny that He is the Christ, 
(even) if He appears as a man born of men, and is proved to be elected to 
the office of the Messiah." If Justin thought that he was addressing men 
who believed that the Messiah, who was to come, was God, he must be 
allowed to be most unfortunate in the selection of his arguments. Then 



'' P. 268 A. Justin's answer to Trypho's inquiry, " How the spirit of 
Elias could be in John ? " deserves notice, p. 269 A. 



Writings of J its tin Martyr. 23 

phets, was to be the precursor of the Messiah, had not appeared. 
Justin answers that the prophecies concerning EHas had, with 

follows a passage which has furnished ample matter for discussion ; con- 
taining an admission on the part of Justin that there were persons in his 
day who confessed that Jesus was the Messiah, but said that He was a 
mere man. To this reasoning of Justin, Trypho replies in the following 
manner : IfJi-oi (uv ooKovffiv ol Xiyovn? avSpwrov yiyovivai avrov, ku) kut tKXoyhv 
tci^piffSoii, xxi Xpiffrov yiyovivui, <7n6a.vuripov vy.uv Xiyitv, tuv toXitoi. ccTtp ((in; 
ktyovTuv XKt yap Tavrig yifnT; rov Xpitr-Tov uv^pcoTov l| om&pcv'T/uv Tpoadoxuf^iv 
ytv^fftr^eti, XXI Tov HX/«v ^p'ktch uvrov iXSovrcc iocv ol ovto; ^a/vjjra/ eov o 
'X.piffTos, SivipctiTrov f/.\v \\ ocvSpwTrwv yivo/u.ivov \x ^avrog iTterTenr^cii ou' ix ol tov 
finTi 'HXixv iXtikv^^ivai oijH tovtov uT/xpcuvefiai itvui. " What they say, who 
affirm that He was born a man, and was selected to be anointed, and thus 
became Christ, appears to me more credible than what is said by them who 
talk as you do. For we all expect that the Christ will be born a man from 
human parents, and that Elias will come and anoint Him. If, therefore, 
this (Jesus) appears to be the Christ, be assured that He was a man born 
of men ; but as Elias has not yet come, I affirm that He was not the 
Christ." We must either say that Trypho does not express the opinion of 
the Jews of his day, or that their belief was not i/ia^ the Messiah^ ivho was 
to come^ was God. 

But what are we to say to the passage produced by Dr. Burton ? Let 
us examine it in connexion with the context. As Dr. Burton observes, 
Trypho had said to Justin, '* You are attempting to demonstrate a thing, 
which is incredible and almost impossible, that God submitted to be born 
and became man," p. 292 D. Justin answers that, if he had endeavoured 
to establish this point by appealing to human authority, Trypho might have 
justly been indignant ; but he had rested the proof entirely on the autho- 
rity of Scripture. Justin subsequently asks Trypho, " Do you understand 
that in the Sacred Scriptures any other person is proposed as an object of 
worship, and is called Lord and God, besides Him who made this universe, 
and Christ, who has been proved by so many quotations from Scripture to 
have been born a man? " Trypho rejoins, " How can we admit it, when 
this lengthened discussion has turned upon the inquiry whether there is 
another (God) besides the Father only?" Justin then quotes Isa. hii. 8 : 
"Who shall declare His generation?" to prove that the Messiah was not 
to be the seed of the race of man. " How then," replies Trypho, " was it 
said to David that God should take to Himself a Son out of his (David's) 
loins, etc. ? " Justin endeavours to explain this seeming contradiction ; 
and then proceeds to charge the Jewish teachers, firstly, with saying that 
those passages in the Septuagint translation which were directly opposed 



24 Some Account of the 

respect to Christ's first coming, been accomplished in John the 
Baptist ; and that before Christ's second Advent, EHas would 

to their own opinions, were not extant in the original ; secondly, with 
affirming that those predictions which could in any way be accommodated 
to events in the time of Solomon, Hezekiah, etc., were intended to refer to 
those monarchSj and not to the Messiah ; and thirdly, when they were 
compelled to confess that there were passages in Scripture which clearly 
spoke of the Messiah as suffering, and as an object of worship, and as God, 
with taking refuge in the cavil that this (Jesus) was not the Messiah ; 
though they admitted that the Messiah was to come, and to suffer, and to 
reign, and to be worshipped as God. *'And we bring those scriptures 
before them which prove clearly that Christ was both liable to sufiFering, 
and was to be worshipped, and was God, which also we set before you, 
which things they necessarily agree to be said of Christ, but they dare 
to say that this is not Christ. But they confess that He is to come, 
and to suffer, and to reign, and to be worshipped as God, which is 
ridiculous and foolish, as I will show." «? ^' av xiyuijuv a.lro7s ypcupa.? «? 
diee.pp*idt]v tov 'Kpiirrov xoci tcc^'/jtov zat 7rpoff>cvv'/ircv xai @iov aTooiiKvvoufftv, a; xai 
Tpoxvi<r7op'/iira, v/mv, TauToci lis XpiffTov ^£v upritr^ui ava.yy.oc.^of/.ivoi (rvvrl^ivTUi, 
ToZrov 01 f/,Y) iivui Tov Xpitrro)! ToXfAuffi Xiyiiv. Ikivcntr^oit ^i xoci <TcihTv, xoi) 
(iaffikivcrai, xat •^poffKuvnTov ytvitrSxi @iov o/ucoXoyoviriv, oTip ytXoTov xa) avonrov, o 
of/,oia>s KTTohii^u (p. 294 C, the passage translated by Dr. Burton). This 
passage, therefore, taken in connexion with the context, far from proving 
the belief of the Jews in Justin's time to have been thai the Messiah, uOio 
was to come, was God, proves, on the contrary, that Trypho and his com- 
panions entered upon the inquiry, not only not entertaining such a belief, 
but most unwilling to entertain it ; and that it was only by compulsion, as 
as it were, av^yxa^fl^sva/ — because they could not elude the force of the 
express declarations of Scripture — that they admitted the prophetic descrip- 
tions of the Messiah to imply that He was God. In confirmation of this 
interpretation, I would refer the reader to the admission made by Tiypho, 
p. 302 C, which Allix has noticed. 

If any reliance can be placed on Justin's authority, the Jews of his day, 
as Allix expresses himself, did not believe that the Messiah was to be any 
other than a mere man, who was to be selected from the rest of His 
countrymen on account of His strict observance of the Mosaic law, pp. 
291 B, E, 267 D. They suspected that the time fixed for His coming 
by the prophets had passed, but affirmed that He was living in a state 
of obscurity, and would remain ignorant of His high character and destina- 
tion, until He should be anointed and made manifest by Elias, pp. 226 B, 
336 D. 



WiH tings of Justin Martyr. 25 

himselt appear. Justin further contends that the Messiah 
must have already come/ because, after John the Baptist, no 
prophet had arisen among the Jews ; and they had lost their 
national independence agreeably to the prediction of Jacob.^ 
Trypho now calls upon Justin to show that in the Old Testa- 
ment mention is ever made of another God, strictly so called, 
besides the Creator of the universe.^ Justin answers that, 
whenever in Scripture God is said to appear to man, we must 
understand the appearance to be of the Son, not of the Father ; 
as when God appeared to Abraham at the oak of Mamre,* to 
Lot,^ to Jacob,^ feo Moses out of the burning bush/ and to 



■^ P. 270 E. In p. 314 A, Justin says that the spiritual gifts, formerly 
conferred singly upon the Jewish kings and prophets, were all united in 
Christ, agreeably to Isa. xi., on which Trypho had founded an argument 
against Christ's divinity. 

^ P. 271 E. Gen. xlix. lo. According to Justin, Gen. xlix. ii and 
Zech. ix. 9 were prophetic of the calling of the Gentiles, pp. 272 C, D, 
273 A. But Gen. xlix. ii contained other predictions. The words, 
"he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of the 
grape," were prophetic of the washing of the sins of mankind by Christ's 
blood, inasmuch as true believers are His garments. Since, also, the 
blood of the grape is the gift of God, not the produce of human 
labour, this verse predicted that Christ was to have blood, but not 
blood derived from a human source, pp. 273 E, 2S6 D, 301 C; See 
ApoL i. p. 74 B (p. 41). 

^ P. 274 B. Trypho admits that the word God is often used in a lower 
signification, as when God is called the "God of gods." See also pp. 
269 B, 293 C. 

^ P. 275 A. Gen. xviii. 340 D, 356 A. According to Trypho, the 
Jews understood that God the Father appeared in the first instance, and 
then three angels in human form, two of whom were sent to destroy 
Sodom, the third to announce to Sarah that she would have a son. See 
p. 342 A. 

^ Pp. 236 D, 277 A. Gen. xix. 

6 P. 280 D. Gen. xxviii., xxxii., xxxv. Pp. 313 A, 354 D, 355 E. 

7 Pp. 282 C, 340 D, 357 E. Ex. iii. 2. Trypho says that an angel 
appeared to Moses, though God the Father conversed with him. See 
ApoL i. pp. 95 B (72), 96 C (79). 



26 Some Accotmt of the 

Joshua.^ Justin also appeals to Ps. ex. and xlv. to show that 
David speaks of another Lord and God besides the Creator 
of the universe ; and quotes Prov. viii. and Gen. i. 26, iii. 22, 
to prove the pre-existence of Christ.- 

After these digressions Justin resumes his proof that the 
Messiah was to be born of a virgin, and quotes Isa. liii. 8, 
Ps. xlv. 7.^ Trypho, however, interrupts him, and says that 
although Jesus might be recognised as the Lord, and Messiah, 
and God by the Gentiles, the Jews, who were the worshippers 
of God, Who made Him as well as them, were not bound to 
recognise or worship Him.'* Justin, in answer, quotes Ps. xcix. 
and Ixxii. to show that, even among the Jews, they who 
obtained salvation obtained it only through Christ. But what, 
rejoins Trypho, are we to say to the words which the prophet 
Isaiah speaks in the name of God Himself, " I am the Lord 
God ; that is My name : I will not give My glory to another " ? ^ 
Justin replies, that Scripture cannot contradict itself If we 
are unable to reconcile, entirely to our satisfaction, those 
passages in which God declares His absolute unity with those 
in which He speaks of Christ as God, we ought to rest assured 
that they are reconcileable, though our imperfect faculties may 
be unequal to the task. In this case, however, the context 
plainly shows that God meant to say that He would give His 
glory only to Him Who was to be the Light of the Gentiles, — 
that is, to Christ. 

Justin now returns once more to Isa. vii.,^ and to the proof 
that the Messiah was to be born of a virgin, but is interrupted 
by Trypho, who tells him that he ought to be ashamed of 

1 P. 286 A. 

2 p. 285 A. In Gen. i. 26 the Jews contended that God addressed the 
words " Let us make man," etc., either to Himself or to the elements. 

3 Pp. 286 C, 301 B. * P. 287 C. 
° Isa. xlii. 8, p. 289 B. « P. 290 D. 



W^dtings of Justin Martyr. 27 

narrating stories respecting the birth of Christ which could 
only be compared to the fables 1 current among the heathen 
respecting the birth of Perseus from Danse, and the descent of 
Jupiter under the appearance of a shower of gold. It would 
be better at once to say that the Messiah was a mere man, 
elected to the office on account of His exact compliance with 
the Mosaic law, than to hazard the incredible assertion that 
God Himself submitted to be born and to become a man.^ 
Justin, in answer, again quotes Isa. liii. 8,^ in order to prove 
that the Messiah was not to be born after the ordinary manner 
of men; and asserts that when Isaiah, vii. 14, said, " A virgin 
shall conceive," etc., he intended to interpret the promise made 
mystically to David in Ps. cxxxii. 11, which had been alleged 
by Trypho to show that the Messiah was to descend, in the 
natural course of generation, from David. In this part of the 
Dialogue, Justin observes that in some instances the Jews 
denied the genuineness of the passages which directly confuted 
their opinions; in others, applied passages, manifestly pro- 
phetic of the events of the Messiah's life, to the actions of 
mere men; and when they were obliged to confess that a 
passage did apply to the Messiah, they took refuge in the 
assertion that Jesus was not that Messiah; but- that the 
Messiah was still to come, and to suffer, and to reign, and to 
be adored as God. Justin quotes also Isa. xxxv. to show that 
the Messiah was to effect miraculous cures. ^ After charging 

1 Tp. 291 B, 297 B. Justin contends that this fable, and others of a 
similar nature,— as the stories of Bacchus, Hercules, ^sculapius,— were 
mere corruptions of the predictions of the Old Testament respecting the 
Messiah, put forth by the devil for the purpose of deluding mankind. He 
makes the same observation respecting certain ceremonies introduced into 
the mysteries of Mithras, pp. 294 E, 296 B, 304 B. 

2 P. 291 C. '^ Bp. 293 D, 301 B. 

'* P. 295 E. In p. 308 C, Justin contends that Jesus was the Messiah, 
because the predictions which He delivered respecting the rise of heresies 
after His ascension, and the sufferings which His followers would undergo, 
had been exactly fulfilled. See pp. 254 A, 271 B. 



2 8 Sojue Account of the 

the Jewish teachers with having expunged from the Septuagint 
version several passages clearly prophetic of the Messiah, ^ and 
quoting portions of Scripture, some of which he had before 
alleged, to prove that the Messiah was not to be born after the 
ordinary manner of men, he proceeds to show that Isa. vii. 
could not apply to Hezekiah, but was fulfilled in Jesus.^ 

Trypho now inquires of Justin whether he really believed 
that Jerusalem would be rebuilt, and all the Gentiles, as well 
as the Jews and proselytes, collected there under the govern- 
ment of the Messiah ; or whether he merely professed such a 
belief, in order to conciliate the Jews.^ Justin, in answer, 
admits that this belief was not universal among the orthodox 
Christians; but that he himself maintained that the dead 
would rise again in the body and live for a thousand years 
in Jerusalem, which would be rebuilt, and beautified, and 
enlarged : he appeals in support of his opinion to Isaiah, and 
to the Apocalypse, which he ascribes to John, one of Christ's 
apostles. 

Justin having produced several passages from the Old Testa- 
ment * in which he finds allusions, sufficiently fanciful, to the 
particular mode of the Messiah's death, and to the Cross, 
Trypho rejoins, "The whole Jewish nation expects the Messiah. 
1 also admit that the passages of Scripture 'which you have 
quoted apply to Him ; and the name of Jesus or Joshua, given 
to the son of Nun, inclines me somewhat to the opinion that 
your Jesus is the Messiah. The Scriptures, moreover, mani- 

^ P. 297 E. - P. 302 C. 

^ P. 306 B. See also pp. 312 C, 368 A, 369 A. In p. 346 B, Justin 
says that the sacrifices which will then be offered to God will be the 
spiritual sacrifices of prayer and praise. 

* Pp. 312 E, 316 E, 259 C, 338 B. The Jews seem to have been at a 
loss to understand why Moses, who forbade them to make any likeness of 
any creature, set up the brazen serpent, pp. 322 B, 339 A. Compare 
Apol i. p. 90 B (68). 



Writings of Justin Alar^tyr. 29 

festly predict a suffering Messiah ; but tliat He should suffer 
death upon the Cross, the death of those who are pronounced 
accursed by the law, fills me with perplexity." Justin answers, 
that the curse applied only to those who were crucified on 
account of their transgressions; whereas Christ was sinless, 
and submitted to this ignominious death, in obedience to the 
will of His Father, in order that He might rescue the human 
race from the penalty due to their sins.^ After quoting Ps. 
iii. 5, Isa. Ixv. 2 and liii. 9, as prophetic of the Messiah's 
crucifixion and resurrection, Justin shows at considerable 
length that Ps. xxii. is descriptive of the perfect humanity, — of 
the sufferings, death, and resurrection of the Messiah. ^ 

Justin comes at last to speak of the conversion of the 
Gentiles;^ and contends that the Christians are the true 
people of God, inasmuch as they fulfil the spiritual meaning of 
the law, and do not merely conform, like the Jews, to the 
letter. They have the true circumcision of the heart ; •* they 
are the true race of priests dedicated to God,^ and typified by 
Jesus the High Priest in the prophecy of Zechariah ; ^ they 
offer the true spiritual sacrifices which are pleasing to God, 
agreeably to the prophecy of Malachi ; ^ they are the seed pro- 

^ Compare p. 338 13. 

2 P. 324 C. The Jews denied that this Psalm was prophetic of the 
Messiah. The mode in which Justin explains an expression in the Psalm, 
from which it might be inferred that Christ was ignorant of His own fate, 
is worthy of attention, p. 326 B. 

' P. 335 E. The Jews appear to have applied some of the passages 
which predict the conversion of the Gentiles to the proselytes, as Isa. 
xlix. 6, p. 350 C. 

* P. 342 A. 

^ " We are the true priestly race of God " {uf>x,'ii>o!.riKiv to uXn^ivov y'tm 
i<riu,h rod BioZ), p. 344 C. " We are the true spiritual Israelites " {'l<rpcc»x,Ti- 
xov ryap 70 aXn^tvov -rnv/^aTtx-ov. x. r. I.), p. 228 E. "We are a holy 
people " {kxo'; Hyios e<r^sv), pp. 347 B, 365 D, 353 B, and 366 A. 

^ iii. I, pp. 342 C and 344 C. 

7 i. 10. The meaning affixed to this prediction by the Jews was that 



30 Sojjie Account of the 

mised to Abraham,^ because they are actuated by the same, 
principle of faith which actuated Abraham, — they are, in a 
word, the true Israel.^ 

Justin concludes with enumerating the benefits conferred 
upon the Jews by God, and reproaching them with their ingrati- 
tude.^ They had at last filled up the measure of their 
iniquities by crucifying His only-begotten Son ; and they still 
persecuted His disciples, although it was evident that the 
capture of Jerusalem,^ and the destruction of their temple by 
the Romans, was a punishment inflicted on them for their 
rejection of Jesus, and for that only, since they were no longer 
addicted to the idolatrous practices which had drawn down the 
vengeance of the Almighty on their forefathers. Their only 
hope, therefore, of safety lay in repenting of their transgressions, 
renouncing the errors of their teachers, and cordially embracing 
Christianity. 

Although I am far from wishing to deny that there are in 
this Treatise many weak and inconclusive arguments, many 
trifling applications and erroneous interpretations of Scripture, 
many attempts to extract meanings which never entered into 
the mind of the Sacred writer, yet I cannot think it deserving 
of the contempt with which some later critics have spoken of 
it. It proves at least that the state of the controversy was not 
essentially different in the days of Justin from its present state; 
that after the lapse of seventeen hundred years the difficulties. 
to be encountered in disputing with the Jews, the objections 

God rejected the sacrifices offered by those who then inhabited Jerusalem, 
but accepted, as sacrifices, the prayers of the Jews who were dispersed by 
the Captivity, p. 344 E. 

' P. 347 C. 2 Pp. 349 E, 352 E, 355 B, 359 1^- 

3 P. 360 D ad fin. 

* The application of the prophecy of Noah to the Jews and Romans 
deserves attention, p. 368 B. 



Writings of Justin Martyr. 3 1 

to be answered, the prejudices to be overcome, are nearly the 
same. It supplies us also incidentally with some curious facts, 
illustrative of the spirit by which the Jews and Christians were 
mutually actuated towards each other. With respect to the 
sentiments entertained by the Christians towards the Jews, we 
find Trypho, p. 263 C, inquiring whether they who lived 
according to the Mosaic law would be saved. Justin answers, 
that as the Mosaic law comprehended the unchangeable and 
fundamental principles of morality, they who had lived up to 
it before the coming of Christ would be saved through Him ; 
and after His coming they also would be saved who observed 
the whole law, both moral and ceremonial, provided that 
they believed the crucified Jesus to be the Christ of God, and 
did not attempt to force the observance of the ritual law upon 
others. He admits, however, that many thought otherwise, 
and contended that the observance of the Mosaic rites was 
incompatible with the profession of Christianity. Thus the 
Gentile converts in Justin's age, and the Jewish in the apostolic 
times, appear to have been equally ready to act on the prin- 
ciple of exclusion. On the other hand,^ we learn that the 
Rabbis forbade their hearers to hold any intercourse with the 
Christians; 2 that they pronounced curses against them in 
the synagogues ; ^ and that they sent persons into every part of 
the civilised world with directions to denounce Christianity as 
a pestilent heresy, and to misrepresent the conduct and morals 
of its professors."^ Justin speaks of the proselytes as animated 
by a more bitter spirit of hostility than the Jews themselves. ' 

1 See Wilson's Illustration, etc., c. xi. ^ Pp. 256 C, 339 D. 

3 Pp. 234 B, 266 E, 321 D, 323 D, 345 A, 363 D, 366 E. From the 
last passage it appears that the curse was pronounced after the conclusion 
of the prayers. See Jerome in Esaiam v. 18, xlix. 7, lii. 4, and in Amos 
i. II, where he says that the Jews cursed the Christians under the name of 
Nazarenes. See Apol. i. p. ^'J A (45). 

* Pp. 234 E, 335 C, where the charges against the Christians are men- 
tioned more in detail. 

^P. 350 E. 



32 Some Acco7mt of the 

He ridicules the trivial questions on which the Jews wasted 
their time and labour,^ and censures their cavilling temper.^ 
He charges them with denying Christ through fear of perse- 
cution,^ with entertaining low and unworthy notions of God,* 
and with corrupting the Septuagint version.^ With respect, 
however, to the last charge, the Christians appear to have been 
more justly liable to it than the Jews.^ Justin further affirms 
that the Jews were allowed by their Rabbis to have a plurality 

' Pp. 339 D, 340 B. 2 p, 343 c. 3 Pp. 258 C, 262 E. 

* P. 341 E, Justin accuses them of anthropomorphism. See p. 364 A. 
^ Pp. 297 C, 349 A. . See also p. 343 D. Justin's specific charges against 
the Jews were — 

I. That they had suppressed a passage in Ezra, in which the Passover 
was represented as a type of the Redeemer ; but this passage is not now 
extant in any either of the Greek or Hebrew copies. Lactantius quotes it. 
Institut. iv. 18. 

II. That they had suppressed a passage in Jeremiah, which, however, 
is now extant in every copy, both Greek and Hebrew, xi. 19. Justin 
admits that in his day it was found in some of the copies used in the 
synagogues. 

III. That they had suppressed another passage in Jeremiah, which is 
not now found in any copy, either Greek or Hebrew. This passage is 
cited more than once by Irenaeus, who in one instance ascribes it to 
Isaiah. L. iii. c. 23 ; 1. iv. c. 39, 56, 66 ; 1. v. c. 31. 

IV. That they have suppressed the words ctvo rod l,6xov ("from the 
cross ") in the 96th Psalm, ver. 10. In the Epistle of Barnabas, chap, viii., 
we find the following passage: "that the kingdom of Jesus from the 
cross " {oTi -A ficKTiXita. rod 'l^ffov Wi tm ^vXm), from which w^e may infer that 
the author had cctto rov ^Cxov in his copy ; but there is nothing correspond- 
ing to the passage in the old Latin version. The reading was known to 
Tertullian and many of the Fathers ; and Le Nourry says that it is found 
in some manuscript psalters of great antiquity. See Apol. i. p. 80 B (50), 
and Dr. Bernard's Note on Cotelerii Pair. A postal. 

Justin further charges the Jews with having erased a passage containing 
an account of the mode of Isaiah's death, p. 349 B. 

*5 Some writers have thought that Justin himself was the guilty party. 
See Thirlby's note on p. 297 B, and Pearson O71 the Creed, Article v. 
p. 242, 5th ed. The Jews asserted that the version of the Septuagint was 
in some places incorect. P. 294 B. 



Wj 2 tings ofjztstiii Martyr. ^sZ 

of wives, and that the polygamy of the patriarchs was alleged 
in defence of the practice.^ 

There is in p. 307 A an enumeration of Jewish sects, in 
which the names of the Genistse, Meristse, and Helleniani 
occur; of the former two, Isidorus, Origin, viii. 4, p. 63, 
has given some, though not a satisfactory account; of the 
Helleniani, no trace, I believe, is to be found in any other 
writer. 

Without meaning to lay any particular stress upon the 

authority of Justin in such matters, I will observe that he 

appears not to have recognised any other than circumcised 
proselytes.^ 



CHAPTER II. 

THE OPINIONS OF JUSTIN RESPECTING THE A0r03 
AND THE TRINITY. 

Having given the above short account of the genuine works 
of Justin which have descended to our times, we will proceed 

1 P ^.6^ E According to Justin, a great mystery was concealed under 
the polygamy of the patHarchs : "And David's one act of transgressK-n 

vkh the wife of Uriah shows, O men, I say, that the patnarchs had many 
:tes without committing fornications, but they had a certam arrangemen 
and practised many mysteries." .«- ^ .]; ^l -- ^^[^'^^2^1 

/,.« ^«VT« 2; «iT^v ^Tsrsxsrr.. P. 371 A. See p. 364 ti. 

2 p. 351 D. 



34 Souie Account of the 

to the examination of his opinions; and will in the first place 
consider what he has delivered respecting the Aoyos, and the 
doctrine of the Trinity. That he asserted the divinity of the 
Aoyos, and a real Trinity, is admitted even by those who are 
most anxious to prove that the early Christians were Unitarians ; 
but they endeavour to invalidate his testimony by contending 
that he was the first who openly maintained these doctrines, 
which were suggested to him by the writings of Plato — in 
other words, that he was the first who corrupted the Gospel, 
by endeavouring to engraft the notions of Gentile philosophy 
upon its sublime but simple truths. That Justin had studied 
and admired the Platonic philosophy we know from himself, 
but that he was indebted to it for the doctrines of the divinity 
of the Aoyo?, and of the Trinity, is a position to which we 
cannot yield our assent ; because, in the first place, no 
sufficient proof has yet been produced- that even the germ 
of those doctrines exists in the writings of Plato ; and because, 
in the next place, his own references to those writings are 
wholly at variance with the position. 

The design of his two Apologies is to give an accurate 
description of the faith of the Christians, and to remove the 
prejudices which existed against them in the minds of the 
heathen. One of these prejudices was that they worshipped 
a crucified man.^ Not so, he replies; the object of our wor- 
ship is the Divine Aoyo?, who was content to become incarnate, 
and to die on the Cross for the sake of mankind. Now a^ 

^ "For here they look upon it as downright madness to assign to a 
crucified man the next place to the immutable, eternal God, parent of all 
things, being entirely in the dark, as to the mystery of this order ; and 
therefore I advise you to give diligent attention while I expound it to 

VOU." ivTav0x yap fiaviocv rif/.uv x,X7U(paUovTa.i, diVTipocv ^eopetv, fiiTK tov 
ocrpi'TTTOv KCii a.i) ovto. &tov xcc] yivv/iTopa, tmv aTavr&iv, at^pca-Ttu ffTavpuditTi 
^i^nvai rif/.0L5 Xiyovris, ccyMOovvriS ro Iv toutm f^u(rTr,piov cu Tpo(ri^iiv Vfun;, 

\lnyov,uivuv rtf^Mv, -Trporpi-Tr'oy.'Jcc. P. 6i A (i8). Compare p. 68 A (31), 
90 B (68). 



Writmgs of Justin Martyr. 35 

Justin's wish was to render the doctrines of Christianity as 
acceptable as possible to the Gentiles, by pointing out features 
of resemblance between them and the tenets of the philo- 
sophers,! it is reasonable to suppose that he would not fail to 
allege those passages of Plato's writings which he conceived to 
afford the strongest confirmation of his opinions respecting the 
Aoyos and the Trinity. What, then, are the passages which he 
produces ? One from the Titncens,'^ to prove that when Plato, 
speaking of the Person who is second to the Supreme God, 
said, " He expressed Him in the universe in the figure of the 
letter X," he alluded to the brazen serpent set up by Moses in 
the wilderness, but did not understand that the serpent was 
typical of the Cross of Christ. Another passage^ quoted by 



' "Not that the doctrines of Plato are alien to those of Christ, but that 
they are not wholly the same, as is also the case with those of others, as 
the Stoics, poets, and historians." ol^if^ on uXXoTpid, lim rk UXkth/vo; 
^thoiyfjcara rov T^pitfrov, aXX' oti olx strri TKvr/i ofioix, ufforip o\jh\ to. tuv 
eiWuv, IruiKMy ts, Kai ttoivituv, tta) ffvyyputp'iuv. P. ^1 B. Compare 

66 C (28). 

^ The passage in Justin runs thus : »«/ to Iv t« -rapa. Tixaruvt Ttfji.rx.'Ku 
(pvfftoXoyovf/.ivov Tipi rou vtov tov @iou, on Xtyii, i^ikitiv avrov iv ru "^xvr), 
'Trtx.pa. ^UxTiwi Xaj8&»v ofjco'iwi iIttiv. P. 92 E (72). But Plato in the place 
alluded to is speaking of the creation of the soul of the universe. 
TOivrviv ovv <rhv ^vtr-a.<nv •ffa.ira.v oi^Xm Kocvk fir,xo; ff^'icra,;, fz'-ff»iv •■rpo$ /niay,v 
SKOiTipav ecXX^Xxii, oTov ^, Tf/xrIiKXav, xnTiza/u.-^piv lU xvkXov, P. 36, tom. 
iii. ed. Serr. 

3 "And finding by Moses that the Spirit of God moved upon the face of 
the waters, he likewise mentions a third, for he gives the second place to the 
Logos of God decussated upon the world, and the third place he assigns to 
the Spirit which is said to move upon the face of the waters, thus expressing 
himself; 'The Third about the Third.'" fcu) to sItsTv auTov TptTov, i-ruVn, 

us TpoitTofz.it, l^civtu Tuv ti^drtuv aviyvcj VTO Mcoa-ius t'lp'/if^ivov STK^ipScrffoci to tou 
@iov Tvsvficoi. ^suTipoiV filv yocp ^Mpa.v TOf 'ffctpu, &-0V Xoyai, ov Ki^iccffPai tv tm 
<7ra.vri 'i<pn, Vt^uffr Tny ^l Tpirnv tm Xi^SUti l^np'-pitr^cci tm voccti TVfjf^ccTi, utmv, 

TO, Ti TpiTo, Tip) Tov TpiTov. P. 93 B {'J2). Thc passagc in Plato runs thus : 
"All things about the King of all and on account of Him, this is the 
cause of all good ; the Second about the Second, and the Third about 

the Third." Tip) tov To-vtuv fooanXia. vivT ierr), ku.\ Ixiivou 'iviKO. tu-vtu.' kol) 



3 



6 Some Account of the 



Justin is from the Second Epistle, where he endeavours to 
discover an allusion to the Trinity in the words, "The Third 
about the Third," in which he supposes Plato to have referred 
to the description of the Spirit moving on the face of the 
waters, in the first chapter of Genesis. It is utterly impossible 
that passages like these should have been the sources from 
which Justin originally drew his notions respecting the Ao'yo? 
and the Trinity. 

If we turn to the Dialogue with Trypho, we learn that the 
Jews as well as the Gentiles objected against the Christians 
the divine honours paid by them to a crucified man. How 
does Justin answer the objection ? By alleging passages from 
the Old Testament, from which he proves that Christ, Who 
preached and was crucified under the Emperor Tiberius, was 
the Aoyos, made flesh, Who had before conversed with the 
patriarchs ; and Whom, together with the Holy Spirit, the 
Father addressed w^hen He created man. Are we, therefore, 
to conclude that he was indebted solely to those passages for 
his knowledge of the doctrines of the Divinity of the Aoyos and 
the Trinity ? Yet this surely is as reasonable a conclusion as 
to infer, from the passages before cited, that he borrowed them 
from Plato. In both instances he used arguments which he 

IztTvO a'lTlOV OiTUVTUV TUV KOCXUV. %iU7ip0V ^\ 9flfl, TU, ^iVTipX' Kx) TftTOV T-pi, 

ra rpira. P. 312, tom. iii. Compare Dial. p. 220 C. "And to consider 
this greatest and most noteworthy work, the remaining Second and 
Third." ««/ tovto fxiyiarov xa) Tiy,tei>TCcrov ipyo)> Tiyilffioci, roc, oi 'koi'ffa. oivnpv, 
xk) TptTtx. If the Hortatory Address to the Greeks was the composition of 
Justin, the argument acquires still greater force ; for though the author of 
that work mentions many of Plato's opinions respecting the nature of God, 
the creation of the world, etc., which he supposes to have been borrowed 
from the writers of the Old Testament, yet he is wholly silent concerning 
the Aoya,-. Indeed, Justin's repeated assertion that Plato was indebted to 
the writings of Moses and the prophets for whatever right notions he 
possessed on the subject of religion, is incompatible with the supposition 
that he would himself borrow doctrines horn Plato. 



Writings of Justin Martyr. t^^ 

deemed most likely to have weight with the persons whom 
he was addressing. He was anxious to persuade both the 
Gentiles and the Jews that the writings which they respec- 
tively esteemed of the highest authority contained intimations, 
however obscure, of those sublime doctrines ; but the sources 
from which he himself derived the knowledge of them were 
the rule of faith handed down in the Church, and the writings 
of the New Testament. I mean not to affirm that the notions 
which he imbibed in the schools of heathen philosophy have 
not affected his language in speaking of the doctrines : I say 
only that he did not derive the doctrines themselves from that 
source. 

Another circumstance well deserving consideration is the 
manner in which Justin mentions these doctrines. He 
uniformly speaks of them as held not by himself alone, or 
the more enlightened few, but by all the members of the 
Christian community. Had he been conscious that he was 
broaching opinions either utterly unknown or not generally 
received in the Church, he would surely have deemed it 
necessary to allude to the fact ; and to anticipate the charge, 
to which he obviously exposed himself, of misrepresenting the 
tenets of the Christians. He has indeed been accused of 
betraying this consciousness in a passage in the Dialogue ivith 
Trypho^ where he admits, if we may believe the Unitarian 

' Justin had been contending that, even if it could not be proved that 
Christ was God, the Son of the Ruler of the universe, and born of a 
virgin, yet it did not therefore follow that the Jews were justified in 
rejecting Him ; since, though a man born of men, He might have been 
elected to be the Messiah. He then goes on : ««' ya-f £'V' -r/i-sj, ^ <P''A.fl/^ 
j'Xsyov, a'xo toZ 'h/niripov yivovs ofAoXoyoZvn; tclrov ^piffrh iTvai, Kv^p^rav ll i> 
KV&pMTcov yivofiivov cc-ro(peenofiiv6r of; oh trvvr'th[^ui. ovV uv TXiTtrroi rccura. ftot 
lola.ira.vTi; u^ronv, IvitP/i oU a.v$pu-7ruo,s h^dyf^airi KiKiXii(ri^i6a. i-r avTod tov^ 
XpiffroV 'Tuha^xi, ocXXa. toTs ha, rZv /.taKapiuv 9epo(pnrZv x.yipv^6i7(n, ko.) ^/ c^.hrov 
h'^axh7<r,. P. 267 E. This passage has exercised the ingenuity of the 
commentators. The Latin translation in Thirlby's edition is as follows : 



38 Some Accotmt of the 

writers, that the majority of Christians in his day regarded 
Christ as a mere man, born after the manner of men. The 
passage is not without difficulty ; but the sense put upon it by 
the Unitarians is at variance with every sound principle of 
interpretation. The fact, moreover, that, among the other 
charges urged against the early Christians, they were accused 
of worshipping a crucified man, is scarcely compatible with the 
supposition that the doctrine of the mere humanity of Christ 
was the prevalent opinion among them. In a word, the whole 
tenor of Justin's language is irreconcil cable with the theory 
that he invented, or at least first published, the doctrines of 
the Divinity of the Aoyos and of the Trinity. 



"Sunt enirn nonnulli, o aniici, dixi, ex genere nostro profitentes ipsum 
Christum esse, sed hominem ex hominibus genitum esse affirmant. Quibus 
non assentior; neque id sane multi qui in eadem mecum sententia sunt " 
(though ToZra, is in the text, the translator appears to have read ra.v7a.) 
"dixerint. Siquidem jussi-sumus," etc. Bull, instead of hf^tripov, would 
read vf^iripov, and understand the expression vy-iripov y'ivovs of the Jewish 
Christians. This correction derives support from the expressions a.'^o tov 
yivov? Tov vfiiTipov, avo rov yivov; vf^uv, which are frequently applied by 
Justin to the Jews. I am inclined, however, to retain yifMTipov, and to 
translate thus : "For there are some, my friends, of our race (Christians, 
as opposed to Jews, v^ui-r-cpov yUo?) who confess that He was the Christ, 
but affirm that He was a man born of human parents, with whom I do not 
agree ; nor should I, even if very many of those who think as I do were 
to say so, since we are commanded by Christ to attend, not to the doctrines 
of men, but to that which was proclaimed by the blessed prophets and 
taught by Himself;" where I understand the words ^Xua-roi ratlrx fioi 
lo^dtTcivTis to mean those who agreed with Justin in professing Christianity. 
But, whether this translation is correct or not, the word Tms, opposed as 
it is to irXiTiTToi, is alone sufficient to prove that the doctrine of the mere 
humanity of Christ was the opinion of the minority, and that a small 
minority, in the time of Justin. Wilson, Illustration, etc., p. 152, trans- 
lates the passage nearly as I do: "There are some of our race who 
acknowledge Him to be Christ, yet maintain that He was a man born 
of human parents ; with whom I do not agree, nor should I, if very many, 
who entertain the same opinions with myself, were to declare " for this 
doctrine. 



Writings of Jitstiii Mm^tyr. 39 

Some writers, in order to remove from the early Fathers the 
charge of borrowing their doctrine respecting the Aoyos from 
Plato, point out the Apocryphal Books of the Old Testament, 
the works of Philo, and the traditional interpretations of 
Scripture current among the Jews of our Saviour's time, and 
preserved in the Chaldee Paraphrases, as the sources from 
which the language of the early Fathers respecting it was 
derived ; but they are not, as it appears to me, borne out in 
their opinion by the works of Justin Martyr. A large portion 
of his Dialogue with Trypho is occupied in proving that, when- 
ever God is said in the Old Testament to have appeared to 
the patriarchs, it was, in fact, the Aoyos Who appeared. How 
greatly would he have added to the force of his arguments, if 
he had shown that this interpretation of the passages in 
Scripture to which he appealed was in strict conformity with 
the tradition of the Jewish Church ! But neither he nor his 
opponent seems to have entertained the slightest suspicion 
that any such traditional interpretations existed. I mean not 
to allege Justin's silence as a proof that they did not exist, 
but that, even if they did exist, it is most improbable that he 
derived his own opinions from them. 

Having, as we think, satisfactorily replied to the charge 
which has been brought against Justin of corrupting the gospel 
by an admixture of philosophical notions derived from the 
-writings of Plato, we will proceed to consider what he has 
actually delivered respecting the Aoyos and the Trinity. 

In the first Apology^ Justin, when defending the Christians 

^ P. 60 (17). " Worshipping the Creator of all — we honour the Master 
Who instructed us in this kind of worship, and Who was born for this very 
purpose, and crucified under Pontius Pilate, Procurator of Judaea, in the 
reign of Tiberius Csesar, even Jesus Christ, Whom we know to be the Son 
of the true God, and therefore hold Him the second in order, and the 
prophetic Spirit the third." rov "hyiy-iovpyh rovhi rov -rccvTos <rtfiouivoi~-Tof 



40 Some Account of the 

against the charge of atheism, says that they worshipped the 
Creator of the universe, and placed next to Him His Son, 
and honoured in the third place the prophetic Spirit. In 
another place the same statement is made with reference to 
the same charge.^ Again, speaking of the opinions of Plato, 
Justin says : " For he gives the second place to the Logos of 

^i^aff'xaXov tj tovtuv yivof^ivov hf^'iv koc) its rovro yivvyiSivra. Inffovv Xpia-roVy 
<rov ffravpuSivrix. It) Xiovr'iov HiXurov rou yivoy-ivov Iv 'lov^oc'ta if) XP^^"'' 
Ttfiipiov Ka'ttrxpos \7r1rpo7rov, vlov ochrov rov ovru; @iou ^a^ovTii ko,) Iv ^ivripa 
X^P'^ '^X"^"^^^} ^^^'^f^^ '■^ "^poiP'/sTtaov Iv Tpirn ra^s/ — Tty-cofjiiv. See, with 
reference to the Aoyo;, p. 59 E (15). Apol. ii. p. 51 D. 

1 "Him and His only-begotten Son Who has instructed us in what I 
just now mentioned concerning these evil spirits, and likewise acquainted 
us with another host of good and godlike ministering spirits, — both These, 
I say, together with the Spirit, Who spake by the prophets, we worship 
and adore." aXX' ixuvov rs, kk) rov 'Tta.p avrov vtov iXdovra, xa.) 'hi^a.^avra. 
YlfiZs Tctvra, KO.) rov ruv ciXXuv i<^o/u,ivuv xcc) l^ofioiovfMvuv ocyocSuv uyyiXuv 
(rrpxrov, 'ffvivf^a, n ro <Tpo(P'/iriKov irs/So^s^a xa) -prpoiTKuvovfiiv. P, 5^ C. This 
passage has been alleged by the Roman Catholics to prove that, in the 
earliest times of the Christian Church, worship was paid to angels. To 
get rid of the inference, Protestant writers have had recourse to various 
expedients. Grabe connects kcu rov — arpocrov with ^Sj, and supposes 
Justin to have meant that " the Son of God communicated the truths (of 
which Justin was speaking) to us (men) and to the host of good angels." 
This interpretation he supports by referring to Eph. iii. 10 : "To the 
intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places 
might be known by the Church the manifold wisdom of God." 'iva, yvupiaf/) 
vZv raJs u.px,^i ^^^ raui l^oufflcci; iv roT; ifoupKviois ^toi tsJj ixxX'/jirtcis h -ttoXu- 
woUtXoi (ro(pioi rov ©soy. And to Irenseus, lib. ii. c. 55: "The ever co- 
existing Son of the Father of old time, and from the beginning, ever 
reveals the Father to the angels, and to the archangels, and to the princi- 
palities and powers, and to all to whom God will reveal Him." "Semper 
co-existens Filius Patri olim et ab initio, semper revelat Patrem et Angelis, 
et Archangelis, et Potestatibus, et Virtutibus, et omnibus quibus vuli 
revelare Deus." Others, and among them Le Nourry, though a Bene- 
dictine, connect x.a.) rov — ffrparov with rccura, and Suppose Justin to mean 
that the Son of God communicated to us these truths (viz. that the 
demons were not gods), and also the knowledge of the existence of a host 
of good angels. (We find '^I'^d^ecvros rocuru. Apol. ii. p. 49 A. ih'ilot.\% 
riiurK. ApoJ. i. p. 99 B. ) Othei's, instead of crparov^ would read 



Writings of Justin Martyr. 41 

God decussated upon the world, and the thud place he assigns 
to the Spirit, which is said to move upon the face of the waters, 
thus expressing himself, 'The Third about the Third.'" ^ 
And with reference to the rite of baptism : '' For they are 
washed in the name of God the Father and Lord of all, and of 
our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit." ^ And again : 
" In every eucharistical sacrifice we bless the Maker of all 
things through His Son Jesus Christ and through the Holy 
Spirit." 3 

When we proceed further to inquire into the manner in 
which Justin distinguishes between the Persons of the Trinity, 

e-rpxrvyov, and construct for Justin a sentence which, careless as he is, we 
believe him to have been incapable of writing. One thing is certain — that 
Justin, who expressly states that there were three objects of Christian 
worship, the Creator of the universe, His Son, and the prophetic Spirit, 
could not intend to represent the angelic host as a distinct object of wor- 
ship. I have sometimes thought that in this passage xu) rov — trrparov is 
equivalent to ^sra roj — a-rpxrov, and that Justin had in his mind the 
glorified state of Christ, when He should come to judge the world, sur- 
rounded by the host of heaven. Compare the Dialogue ivith Trypko, p. 
247 E. *' For the Son of man will come upon the clouds, even as Daniel 
foretold, the angels with Him." u$ vlos yxp uvSpu/Ttov Wuvu vKpiXav lxs6- 
ffiTxi, us Aoivr/i^ if^Yivvffiv, ocyy'iXuv ffuv avTM ctipnivovfiivcuv, Apol. 1. p. 87 B 
(63). "When encircled with heavenly glory and His host of angels." 
oTccv fiira ^o^'/is l^ olpxvuv f/i.ira tTis uyysXiKiJs ulrov <rrpxria; k. t. t, oO 
p. 71 B {■T,']). Justin, speaking of Satan, says: " Who together with all 
his hosts of angels, and men like himself, shall be thrust into fire, there 
to be tormented, world without end, as our Christ has foretold." h i]$ to 
Tup Tif/,(pHffia-^a,t fjLira. rJjj alrou a-rpxria,; kx) tuv iTTofMvuv xv^pcoTwv, xoXxtr- 
dnffoy,ivovs rov ocripavrov aiuvx, TpoifA-nvvtriv Xpto'To;. In the Dialogue, p. 204 
A, we find, " that by this arrangement the serpent who has done evil from 
the beginning, and his angels who are like him, may be destroyed." "v« 
^/a rnt olx,ovofj(,la.s ravryis Trovijpsutrx/Mvo; rhv a.px,nv o^i; kx) 01 i^of^oiuhvrs; 
aura! HyytXoi xxrxXvSucri. See also pp. 327 D, 360 D, and 284 B, wliere 
Christ is said to have called Himself the Leader of the Heavenly Host. 
Compare p. 286 A. 

1 Apol. i. p. 93 B (72). ^ Apol. p. 94 A (74). 

^ lb. p. 98 C (91). 



42 Some Accottut of the 

we find that there are certain epithets and expressions which 
he appHes to the first Person alone, such as Unbegotten,i 
Ineffable, the Maker and Creator of all things.^ He says ^ 

^ So I translate ayzviinro?. Waterland, in all these passages, would sub- 
stitute ayivnroi for aysvvjjraj, vol. iii. p. 248, ed. Oxon. 1823. 'iri TrpcaroroKo; 
rai ayivvrirw @iZ Iffri. " That He is the first-begotten of the unbegotten 
Ood. Apol. ], p. 88 A (64). 'T'ov yccf u.'JTo ayiw^rou kcx.) app^rov Qiou 
Xoyov y,irex, rov &iov ^poirKvvov/u,iv x.cii uyocToif/Av. "We Worship and love 

the Word of the unbegotten God, together with God." Apol ii. p. 51 D. 

bee also p. 50 C. yap ccjpnros 'Pfa.rvip kdu Kvpio; ruv 'ffa.vTuv ovrs ^01 
cc(p7xrcii ovn 'Tripi'^ard, ovn Kinhvtu, ovn avtirrccrad, «XX' Iv r^ a-vrov x^?"^ 
o-rou -TToTi fiivti, X. T. i. *' The ineffable Father and Lord of the whole 
world neither comes to any place, nor walks about, nor sleeps, nor rises 
up, but remains in His own country wherever that may be." Dial. p. 
356 E. 70V f^'ovov Kou ayivvriTou x.u.\ apprirou %iov viov. " The Son of the 
only and unbegotten ineffable God." P. 355 D. rf ayiyvvTM @iu 5;a 
Tou XpiffTov. "To the unbegotten God through Christ." A^o/. i. p. 85 
B (60). fiira rev uTpi-ffrov ko.) aii ovra. &iov, "The next place to the 
immutable eternal God." P. 61 A (18). @'.m li f^ovu rZ uyiw/iTM ^/a roZ vloZ 
iToi/.iSa. " We come over to the obedience of the only unbegotten God 
through His Son," P. 61 B (18). Justin, as we have already seen, says 
that God has no proper name — no name expressive of His essence : 
the names which we apply to Him are expressive only of His attributes. 
Thus Apol. i. p. 94 -D (76). ovof/.ci ykp rZ app^TM 0s» ol/'Sui 'i^n il<n7v, 
"Because we have not any appellation for the ineffable majesty of God." 
P- 95 C (79)' "^^'^ avuvQ/jiyaffrov &iov XtXeik'/ixivect rZ Mu(nT. "It was the 
unnameable God Who thus conversed with Moses." Apo/. ii. p. 45 D. See 
p. 9> f'* !• ovofjicc. dl TO) ^rccvTuv 9rarp) CiToVy ocyivvviTCt) ovn, oIk 'iffTiv. Dial. p. 
277 B. 'ffa.pa, rov voovfMvov ToiriTyiv ruv oXav. A doubt, however, may 
arise whether in some cases Justin does not use the word God absolutely, 
not with reference to the Father, as distinct from the Son and Holy 
Spirit. 

^ Thus He is called -reivTeov '^ccrhp xou ^'/i/^iovpyos. Apol. i. p. 57 A (10). 
'TfoiTtTni rov'hi rov tccvtos, p. 70 B (35)- }'/]f/.iovpyo; tov^s rod -^ravros, 
pp. 60 C (16), 92 A (70). 'tiff'^'or'/is -zavrm kou ^arhp &ios, pp. 76 E (45), 
81 C (52), 83 D (57)' ° 'Tor/irhs ruv oXuv &ios x.a) -Tra-rnp. Dial. p. 225 A. 
'ffavrox.pa.rup kou -pror^rhs ruv oXuv Qios, pp. 234 B, 3 10 A. ';r«r'/;p rZv 
oXojv KO.) uyivvr,ro; &ios, p. 342 A. 

vTo aXXov rov Iv roic v'Tipovprxvioit «•/ fjcivovro;, xcc.) ovhiv) o(phvro;, n of/.tXvi- 
travro; 0/ iccvrov trurs, ov Toirrrhv rov oXov ko.) Turipa, voov/Mv. "By Him 
Who remains always in the highest heaven, and is seen of none, neither 



Writings of Justin Martyr. 43 

also that the Father never descended on earth or appeared to 
man, but remamed always in the highest heaven. 

With respect to the second Person in the Trinity, Justin 
says that in the beginning, before all created things, God begat 
from Himself a certain Rational Power, Who is called by the 
Holy Spirit the Glory of the Lord, sometimes the Son, some- 
times the Wisdom ; and he illustrates the mode of genera- 
tion by a comparison borrowed from a fire, which does not 
diminish the fire from which it is lighted.^ So this Rational 
Power was generated without any abscission or division of the 
essence or substance of the Father. Sometimes instead of 
the word generation, Justin uses emission or prolation.^ The 

holds converse with any except by another's agency, Whom we recognise 
as the Father and Creator of the universe." Dial. p. 275 A. oh rh 
ToiYiTViv ruv oXuv Kou 'ffa.r'ipa,^ KO.ra.Xt'Ji'ovra rot, WTtif oupxvov uTuvra, iv oXtyui 
yTiS u,opitt) <7ri(pa,vSai <rx; offrtfovv^ xav //.iKpov vovv SX"^^) ToXf/,'/jffii uTiTv. ** No 
one even with little sense will dare to say that the Father and Creator of 
the universe left the highest heaven, and showed Himself to any one in a 
small part of the earth." P. 283 B. See also p. 356 E, quoted in note i, 
p. 56, 357 B. 

1 apx/iv -rpo ToivTuv tmv x.ri/rf4a.Te>JV &ios 'yiyivv/jx.i ^vvocf^lv rtvoc s| lavroZ 
Xoytxvv, vris xa) §a|« Kvp'iov vTo roZ 'rviVf/.ex.ros tov ocyiov xa'kura.i, To-ri d\ vlo;, 
Tori 5s ffo(plci — xx) OTToTov i^r) ^upos op&i/xiv aXXo ytyvof^ivov, olx IXarrouf^ivov ixitvov 
l^ oS h civo^l/ii yiyoviv, aXXa, rou avrov f^tivovro;. Dial. p. 284 A. u-ttui 
rm 'huvxf/.iv raur'/jv ysyivvyjo'^ai bctto rou -^ocrpog ^vvdf^ii xcc) ^ovX^ avrov, ccXX 
oh xocrot, a.Torofji.hv, us uTo/i^npi^o/^sv/iS rra rou ^rarpo; ohffia,;, o-TTola, ra aXXu. 
'Ta.vroi (A.ipiXJifji.i'iot, xoCi riy-voyAva, oh ra, cchru, Iffnv a. xcc) •yrp^v rf^'/,6riva,i' xa) 
•TTapoHhuyyaros Xi^-piv '?ra,piiXrt(piiv ra. u; (f. u; ra) octto Ttipo; ava7frof/.iva Tvpa 
'inpa opuyiv, evTiv IXarrovy-'ivov Ixitvov, s| ov ava{p^?ivai -TroXXa ^vvavrai, aXXa 

rahrov f^ivovrot, p. 35" -f^* 

2 aXXa rovro ro rZ ovrt a-ro rod Trarph "TTpopiX'/iClv yivvyif^a, Tpo -ravruv rut 
Totvifiaruv ffw^v ru Tarpt. xa) rourw Tarhp 'Tepoffof/.tXii, f. 7rpoffuf^.iXu. 
" And this Product being truly prolated by the Father was one with the 
Father before all created things. And the Father held intercourse with 
Him." P. 285 E. vivo'/txafMV ovra, xa) '^po -ravruv Tor/ifidruv, a-TTo rou Trarpo; 
luvafj^u ahroZ xa) (houXy^ vpoiX^ovra. "We knew that He was begotten 
before all created things by the power and will of the Father." P. 327 B. 

ort olx Urtv av^pu^ivov spyov, aXXa rni ^ouXy,; rod ■7rpo^a^\ovro; avrov 'Tarpoi 



44 So)?ie Account of the 

general opinion of the Ante-Nicene Fathers appears to have been 
that, previously to this generation or emission, the Logos sub- 
sisted from eternity in a state of most intimate union with the 
Father, though personally distinct from Him, being His Intelli- 
gence and His Counsellor in devising the plan of creation. 
But though we find in Justin's writings nothing decidedly at 
variance with this opinion, he nowhere expresses it in clear 
and explicit terms. For most of the passages, quoted by Bull 
and Grabe,^ in order to prove that Justin held the doctrine of 
the coeternity of the Logos with the Father, are capable of a 
different interpretation, and may be understood merely of an 

rm oXav @iov. "That He is not made by man but by the will of Him 
Who made Him, God the Father of the universe." P. 301 B. 

ovoy,a, 01 Ta> ^kvtmv ^ccrpi ffsroVy ayivvriTM ovri, ova Jitt/v. m yccp av 7(.ce,t 
ovof/,ex,Tt (f. ovof^ciTi Tis) <7rpoira,yopivnroe,i, ^rpitr^vTipov 'i^n tov ^s^svsv to ovofji^u,. 
TO Oi 9recT7ip, Kcci @ioSy xut xnirr'A?, act) Kvpios, y-a) ^iffTrorn? ov» ovof^ara, iffriv, 
uXX iK Tuv iv-Troiiuv KKi Tuv ipycov 'ffpoffp'/iffii;. "Si vios ijiiivov, fJt,ovo; \iyo' 
.uivo; Kvpiu; vio;, Aoyos ^po nrut foiyi[ji,a,rcov x,a,] crvvuv koc) yivveufzivo?, on tyiV 
xpX/A'i Oi ahrov TTuvrot, 'ixritrs xa) ixofffA'/itrt, "Kpiff-ros f/Av Ko^ra. to x,i^pt(r6ui kcc) 
KOiTf^nffoci TOi TccvToe, oi' ahrov rov &:ov, kiyiTcn' ovoua. xcc) ocuro Tspis^ov ayvuxTTov 
7yif/,ce.(Tta,v' ov TpoTov xk) to Qio; "Trpoffocyopwfji^ot,, ovk o\o^u. IffTiv, aXXa Tpdyf/^ciTo; 
Ivtri^^Yjy'/irav sf/,(pvTos t"^ (^vffn tuJv aySpu'TiJv Vo^oi., Apol. ii. p. 44 D, translated 
in p. 6^'of this work. On this passage Bull remarks : " In his verbis docet 
Justinus Deo Patri et Filio nullum proprie nomen competere, sed tantum 
appellationes quasdam, ab ipsorum beneficiis et operibus petitas, ipsis a 
nobis tribui. PIujus autem assertionis rationem banc affert : quod Deus 
Pater ingenitus atque seternus sit ; Filius vero ut Verbum ejus ipsi co- 
existat ; ac proinde uterque neminem habeat se antiquiorem, qui ipsi 
nomen imponeret. Quin et Christi nomen ejus Divinitati tribuit Justinus, 
quasi scilicet Aoyos et Filius Dei Deo Patri coexistens et ex ipso ab 
aterno nascens (tanquam scilicet seternse lucis aeternus splendor) tum 
Christi nomen sortitus fuerit, quum Pater per ipsum cuncta conformaverit 
ornaveritque." Def. Fid. Nic. sect. iii. c. 2, sub in. With respect to 
this comment, we may observe, in the first place, that Justin does not 
assert that no name can properly and essentially be given to the Son, but 
to the Father of all things, an appellation uniformly applied by Him to the 
Father, as distinct from the Son ; in the next place, that Justin does not 
say that the Son existed together wiih the Father from eternity, but before 
all created things, Tpo tuv -Tr^tny-Kruv ; and thirdly, that Justin does not 



Writino-s of Justin Martyr. 45 

existence prior to the creation of all things. The expression 
which is in appearance most opposed to the doctrine of the 
coeternity of the Son with the Father is in a passage of the 
Dialogue with Trypho, p. 358 E, where Justin quotes Gen. 
xix. 24 to prove that the Old Testament recognises two dis- 
tinct Lords, — One Who descended on earth to hear the cry of 
Sodom ; the Other Who remained in heaven, "Who," Justin goes 
on to say, "is the Lord of the Lord on earth, as being Father 
and God, and is the cause of His (the Lord on earth) being 
both powerful, and Lord, and God : " os koX rov iirl yrj^ Kvplov 
Kvpcos icTTLv, ws irarrjp kol ©cos, atrios re aiiro) rov etrai kol 
Swarw, Kal Kvptw, Koi 0€o). See Bull's remarks on this passage, 

say that the Son received the name of Christ, when the Father made all 
things by Him. Grabe accordingly seems not to have been satisfied with 
Bull's interpretation, though he contends that the word trwuv, "being in 
company with," iynplies the eternal existence of the Son with the Father ; 
referring in support of his opinion to the Dialogue witli, Trypho, p. 267 B ; 
'^fou'xa.f^nv &iov ovra. ^rpo ecluvuv rovrov Xpurrov, " Christ to have been God 
before all ages," p. 276 D ; tov kou -rpo Toiva-iu; 7c'osy.ov ovra &iov, " He 
was God before the foundation of the world," and to p. 285 E, quoted in 
note 2, p. 43, of which passages, as well as of p. 264 A — Ss x-a.) crpo 
iMir<popov Koc) ffiXmri; «v, " Who existed before the morning star and the 
moon," it may still be said that they are not decisive ; for Arius appears 
to have been willing to call Christ, rh \k '^rccrpos Tpo 'rccvruv tuv u.\uvc>jy 
ysyivr,f/.ivov, @sov x'oyov, " God the Word, begotten of the Father before 
all worlds." Socrates, Hist. Eccl. 1. i. c. 26. Waterland also classes 
Justin among the writers who make the generation of the Son temporary, 
vol. i. p. 104. Observe, too, what he says respecting Bishop Bull in p. 
105. There is in p. 302 B a very remarkable passage : ««/ Aa^G/B §s 'xpl 

h^iov Kou ffiX'AV'/i; l» yaffrpo; yivvn^'hffKTSa.i kvtov xocroc mv tov 'Trex.rpog [oovX'/iv 

iKYipvli, "And David proclaimed that He was begotten from the womb 
of the sun "and the moon, according to the will of the Fatlier." The 

reference is to Ps. ex. 3 : b tou? XKy.'^poTTifft tuv a,yiuv ffou, ix yaa-rpos Tpo 

iucnpopou iy'ivv'/ttra, ffi, " In the beauties of holiness from the womb before 
the morning star have I begotten Thee." Commentators generally under- 
stand this verse of the generation of the Son to create the universe ; 
but in p. 286 E, Justin refers it to His birth from the Virgin. See 
pp. 82 E (56), 250 C, 310 A. In p. 309 C, the words la yutr-rpo; are 
omitted. 



46 Some Account of the 

sect. iv. c. I, Def. Fid. Nic. Again, p. 311 B, Justin says : os 
IdTi Kvptos Twj/ 8wa//,€a>v 8ia to Ok\y]\xa rov Swtos avrw Trar/oo?, 
"Who is the Lord of hosts by the will of the Father Who 
gave Him the dominion." When, however, we find it ex- 
pressly stated that it was Christ who appeared to Moses, and 
described Himself as the Necessarily Existing " I am that I 
am," we must conceive Justin to have maintained the perfect 
divinity of Christ, and consequently His coeternity with the 
Father. 1 

This Rational Power, according to Justin, was begotten or 
emitted, that He might be the minister^ of the Father in 
creating the universe,^ and conducting what the Fathers term 
the Economy.^ Hence we find Him present at the creation 

1 Apo/. i. p. 95 E (80). 

ToZ i'tvKi rixvav TpuToroxov tuv oXcov kt kt (jlolt wk Dial. p. 354 ^' Compare 
pp. 279 A, 280 D, 283 B, 284 A, 356 C, 357 C. 

^ aXX I'Tti.thn kvvo>i^iVTa tov &iov otci koyov t^v xocr/nov '!Toir,<Tai iyi^jTriv. 
" Because they found that God reflecting upon Himself made the world 
by His Logos or Wisdom." Apoi. i. p. 97 B (81). uim xiytu &ioZ Ik 
Tcov VTroxiif^'ivuv xal '^pootjku^ivruv ^io, MMtTicij; yiyivTitrfoti tov rravTa xaa/xov 
Kcc) HXaruv, xa) 01 rccvra Xiyevrii, xot.) hfjt,i7i \f/,ci6oy,iv. "And that this 
chaos first mentioned by Moses was the subject-matter out of which the 
Logos of God made the world, both Plato and his followers and we 
are agreed." P. 92 D (71)' ioo^'^rip tcHxxo, Tizvra, Z^ua. Xoyu QioZ t'/iv up^h^ 
lyivvnh. "And all the other animals were made in the beginning by 
the Word of God." Diai. p. 310 C. It has been already observed thai 
Justin applies the expressions, Maker and Creator of all things, to the 
Father exclusively : the A'oyo; was ministerial. Justin speaks of the 
world as created out of matter without form : vXr,)/ ufM>p(pov oZcav sTpi-'^a.v'iu. 
(1. rpi-^a-vToi) rav 0£ov xd(ry.ov •ttoiyi'tu.i. "God created the world out of a 
chaos of rude matter." Apol. i. p. 92 C (71). Compare pp. 58 B (12), 
99 A (94). We must not, however, thence infer that he maintained the 
eternity of matter. 

* By the word olxovof/.tct, I understand that dispensation which commenced 
with the generation of the Son for the purpose of creating the universe, 
and will end when " He shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the 



Writings of J7tstin Martyr. 47 

of man ;i He it was Who appeared to Abraham/-^ who wrestled 
with Jacob,^ Who conversed with Moses from the burning 
bush/ Who announced the approaching fall of Jericho to 
Joshua,^ Who inspired the prophets,^ Who in the fulness of time 
condescended to be born of the Virgin/ to assume the human 
form, and to suffer death on the Cross ; Who rose again from 

Father" (i Cor. xv. 24). This is the meaning of the word in its fullest 
acceptation : but it is also applied to any particular event or epoch in that 
dispensation. Thus to the Passion of Christ, »«) t>5 toZ yivof/,ivov -jeaeovi 
avTov oixovofiia, "And to the task of His completed Passion," Dial. pp. 247 
D, 331 A ; to His assumption of our nature, p. 264 A ; to His compliance 
with the Mosaic ordinances, p. 291 E ; to His ministry on earth, p. 315 
A ; to His birth from the Virgin, p. 348 B. Sometimes the word appears 
to be equivalent to mystery, and to signify that some hidden meaning is 
couched under any action or event; for instance, under the polygamy of 
the patriarchs, pp. 364 A, 371 A. So we find, p. 334 E, with reference to 
Jonah's gourd, ^ta tTh olxovofAlas roZ \x Tijs yns u.^a.ru'kon alru aiKVuvx, " By 
this mysterious arrangement a gourd arose for him out of the earth," 
Mosheim, Cent. ii. p. 2, c. 3, sect, viii., speaks of a mode of disputing kxt 
oUovofii»v ; but there is no vestige of this use of the word in Justin or the 
earlier Fathers. In my work on Clement of Alexandria, p. 398, 1 have 
gone fully into this question. 

1 Dial. p. 285 B. 

^ on o(ph); tu ' K^fctafji. Tpo; rn ^pv'i r^ Ma^/?/)^ @iOi. *' That God appeared 
to Abraham at the oak of Mamre." Dial. pp. 275 A, 276 E, 281 E. Sec 
P- 34, n. 3. 

^ Dm/, p. 281 E. See p. 25, n. 6. 

* Iv i^ice. fvpo; \k fiuTOU 'fpo(r6oy,iXY\(nv kItm {ru '^lutTi7) hf^iripos XpicTTOf. 
" Our Christ talked with him (Moses) out of the bush in the appearance of 
fire." Apl. i. p. 95 B (79). Dia/. pp. 282 D, 340 D. See p. 25, n. 7. 

^ Dial. p. 286 A. 

^ koyos yap nv xai iffriv iv •ravr) Sjv, kcu "tuoc ruv <;rpo<P'/!ruv TposiTuv ret 
f^ixXovTOi yiyviffSah " For the Word was and is and exists in all things, 
Who also prophesied by the prophets who were to come." Apo/. ii. 
p. 49 A. 

' Xoi-rov ouv kk) on ouro; ^/« rn; -TrapSUov oivSpwTtos yivvti^moci xara rtjv tou 
-retrpos ccliTou fiovXTiffiv vTi/u.nviv, oc^ohii^ov, xu) (TTOt.vpuSrivai, xa.) ocToSccviiv' OriXov 
(f. ^nXov) It xoA on fjt.sra, raZra. uvccffroii aviXriXvkv iU tov ovpavov. Dial. 
p. 286 C. «XX' lU xTo^u^iv yiyovoc(Tiv o'l^i o'l Xoyoi, on v'los ©say xa) a9roiTro>^o; 
'j'/](^/)v: Xpi(r-ro; ItTTi, -rportpov Xoyo; mv xcti iv lOio, ■TTvpo; Ton (pavu;' Ton di xa.i 



48 Some Account of the 

the dead, ascended into heaven, and shall come again to judge 
mankind.^ 

Of the titles applied by Justin to the second Person in the 
Trinity, some have reference to His nature ; some to the 
relation in which He stands to the Father ; some to the part 
which He bears in the gospel economy. In the first respect 
He is repeatedly called God,^ and said to be the object of 
worship.^ 

In the second respect He is called the Son of God in a 
peculiar sense,* or His only - begotten Son, His Reason or 

Ev uxovi ao'iufidrav' vuv "hi ^;a hXyiy-ccro; @iov vTip rov avSpco'Tfuov yivous ecv^puTo; 

yiVOf/.iVOS, VTfifMIVi Kk) 'TTU.hlv ». T. I. Apol , \, p. Q^ A (80), 

■" xa/ avTos 7'Av Kpiffiv tov -ffavro; xv^puTTtvovyivovs croi^/riTdu " And that He 
should come to be the Judge of all the world." Apol. i. p. 88 A (64). 
See p. 57 B (10). 

- OS KCt.) Xoyos (f, SUpplend. jckY) 'pfpuroroao; oov roiJ @iou, kcc) @ios v-Tfdp^ii. 
Apol. i. p. 96 D (81), Dial. pp. 267 B, 276 D, quoted in note i, p. 44, p. 
314 B. ouTos ecvTos &SOS uv (T'/if/,uivsi rct) M-uiru, p. 282 E. kcc) ccyyiXo; x,a.Xov- 
yAvos x.a) ®ios v'ffapx'^v, p. 283 D. fjt,a,prvp'/i(Tu ^s [/.oi Aoyo; rns iropia;, auTo; 
uv OUTOS ©£oj aTo Tov -prccrpos ruv oKmv yivv/i^zis, p. 284 C. 'iva koI 0sov civu- 
^iv TfpoiXSovTa,, xcc) uv&puTov Iv ocvSpu'Pfois yivofjCivov, yvup'iff'/in, p. 288 E. fiiv 
yap (Muffijs) TpixTKocipov 'i^uxiv uvToTs ^hv KX'/jpovof/.i'ccv, an oh "KpiffTos @-o; uv, 

OvTi vloS ®10V, pp. 340 D, 354 ■^' '^^^ ^"^^ "^^"^ hf^iTipOV hpiuS, Xu) @i0V, KKl 
'S.pKTTOV, v'iOV TOU TTUTpoS TUV o'^UV, yiyV-(T$ai fiiXXovruV, p. 343 B. XKI TO'J 

'Xtt.hvs ^i'^ovh 5/' avTov @ios TOU &iou, fiifiV'/iTai, p. 345 A. @ios &iou vlo;, 
p. 357 !)• oux av i^npviiah ocutov I'lvat @iov, tou //.ovou xu) aytvv^Tov xui appriTou 
&iou Viov, p, 355 I-^' ^^^ ixiTvov TOV xocTci (iovKriv Triv Ixuvov xa) &iOV ovtcc, 

P- 357 B.^ 

3 TOV ya,p acTo ayivvriTov xou a.ppy\Tou @iou Xoyov [/.ito, tov &iov 'prpco'xvvou^iv xui 
uya.'Trcof^civ. Apol, \\. p. 5^ C. fiV; yovv xcu 'ffpoifxvvnTos icTi xcci Sios^xai 

Xpia-Tos vTo TOU Tot-uTo, ^oij^tTctvTos f/.apTtjpou//,ivos. Dial, p. 287 B. See also 
pp. 294 C, 302 B. 

■* xoCi 'Ififfovs 'Kpia'Tos f/.ovos ih'ius vlos tm &im yiyivvs^To^t, Aoyo; uutou v-^ap^uv, 

XC/A 'PTpuTOTOXOS, XCU l)UVa.lJ!.lS. Apol. i. p. 68 C (3l)' '''»'' a-UTOU (f. CiUTOv) TOU 

ovTca; ®iou i/,a.SovTis, p. 60 D (16). Apol. ii. p. 44 D, quoted in note i, ]">. 44. 
ju.ovoyivris yccp oti *iv tm <7tot.Tpi tuv oXmv ouro;, lolus 11, ocurou Aoyo; xoii ouvaui; 
yiy-vrifiivos x. t. i. Dial. p. 332 C. 



V 



Writings of Jicstin Martyr, 49 

Word,i His First-born or Begotten,2 His Power,^ His Ttiought 
or Intelligence, if the received reading is correct,^ His Christ 
or Anointed,^ His Glory, His Wisdom.^ 

1 According to the passage quoted from the First Apology in note 7, 
p. 47. Christ was the Xoyoi before He was the Son and Messenger of 
God. Ti^Zra, h K'oyos, QiTo? (f. @iis) ^v, -Jpyd^ccro, " The Reason that is Divine 
would these things bring about effectually." Apol i. p. 58 D (13). J U 
Aoyos rod @toZ \,rriv vlos cchroZ, " The Logos of God is His Son " 
P- 95 D (79).^ 

^ y/ovrt? ccl^riv :TpcuroToxov [Av rod @ioZ, ku] ^pi ^<i,rm Tm KT,<Ty,^.rav ku] 
ruv vaTp,rxp;^uv, vl'ov. Dial, p. 326 E. See pp. 310 B, 311 B, 367 D, 
344 C. TM T% xcc) Tov Aoyov, Uti -^rpurov yivv/i/aa, roZ @ioZ, Apol. i. p. 
66 E (29). voun, Z icKpoa.ru), z'l y. kcc) tov voZv ^po(Tixirt, ««) or, yiyivv^fffiot, 
M roZ ^arpos rodro ro yivv'/,,ua. ^rpo -Ttdvrojv ^tXo^s r^v zr,fffzdra>y h A'oyo; 
\MXoV Kcci ri yi,yi^^.i^ov roZ yivvmro; up,0f^Z 'irip'ov Uri,, -ttus ^(rnffoZv of^oXoyr,- 
irn;. Dial. p. 359 B. Justin uses the word generation in speaking of 
Christ both as begotten before all created things, and as born from the 
Virgin. See the passages quoted in note i, p. 44, as instances of the 
former use of this word, and the following examples of the latter : il Ti ko,) 
IVus -^apa. rhv Koivh yiv-inv ysyiv^a-^eci aZrov Ik @ioZ kiyof^civ Xoyov @zoZ, z. r. I 
^ff' \' ^]' ^^ -^ (30)- '-' ^* ^'a 9ra,p6'ivo'J y-y-vvr^tr^u, (pipofziv, p. 6S E (31). 
i: h §' ciWUv ha. luvuf^ia,; roZ koyov Hard rh roZ ^ccrpl; -zdvruv Tta) ^iir-Trorou 
BioZ [hovXhv, ^la. Tap^ivov uv^pa-ros ccffiKwhen, k. r. I., p. %T^ D (57). ltd yap 
•TrapSivov rn-, aTTo roZ ff-ripf^aro; 'laKcifi, roZ yivo/xivou ^arpo; 'lou^a, roZ hh?ic^- 
fiivou 'lov^a'tcdv -^arpo:, ltd, di^vajxius @ioZ d'TTiKunh, p. 74 D (41), \vhere ltd 
Ivvdf^icoi e'.oZ, " by the power of God," is equivalent to hd lvvd[x,ico; roZXoyov, 
"by the power of the Word, "in the passage before cited. See also ^/^/. ii. 
p. 45 A. Dial. p. 241 B. In p. 316 E, the word yinfft? is used with 
reference to the time when the Holy Spirit descended upon Christ at His 
baptism, and the voice from heaven declared Him to be the Son of God, 
roTi yivifftv alrou "Kiyuv ylyviaSat roT? uv$puToi;, i^orov h yvdia-t; alroZ iy,iXXi 
yiynffSai, vlos y-ou u cv, \yu ffyifAtpov yiyiw/iKd (Ti. 

ov yap ffo(ptjr'/is v-ZTip^iv, dXXd Ivvafzti @ioZ A'oyo; alroZ -Jv. Apol. i. 
p. 6l D (19). 'h 61 <ffpuirn 1vvc(,y,ts f/,ird rov -zar'ipa -Trdvruv }ca) '^icrwor'/iv 0iov, 
xat vios, Aoyo; lo-rtv, os rma, rpo-^rov a-apxoTotrJus uv^paTo; yiyoviv, h ro7; il^jj 
ipovfiiv, p. 74 B (41). scat dyyiXo; roZ @ioZ, rovriffriv 'h Ivvayug roZ SioZ 'h 
'X%y.(^h'iira hf/-7v ltd ^IyktoZ Xpjffrov. Dial. p. 344 A. 

KUi rovro avro, u (piXoi, i'lTTS xai lid Muffius roZ @ioZ Aoyog, y.'^vvuv yiinTv, 
ov id'/iXua-i, rov &iov Xiyuv rovrt» alru ru vorif/.ari Im rm 'roiy,(rico; roZ dv^pd-^ov. 
«. r. I. Dial. p. 285 A. But Thirlby suggests that we should read 
yivv'/iuart. 



50 So7ne Account of the 

With reference to the part borne by Him in conducting the 
gospel economy, He is styled, as we have already seen, the 
Minister,^ and the Angel or Messenger of God.- 

AVe have stated that Justin supposed the generation of the 
Son to have taken place without any abscission or division of 
the essence or substance of the Father ; and that he illustrated 
his notion by referring to a fire, which suffers no diminution 
though another fire is lighted from it. This comparison im- 
plies that the Father and Son are distinct, though of one 
substance. There were, however, in his day those who 
contended that the power sent forth from the Father was 
inseparable from Him,^ as the light of the sun on the earth is 
inseparable from the sun in the heavens ; so that when the sun 
sets, the light is withdrawn. In like manner the Father, when 
He wills, causes a power to proceed from Himself, which He 
also recalls at pleasure. Such was the power which appeared 
to Moses, Abraham, and Jacob, and was called a messenger or 
angel when it bore the commands of God to man ; the glory of 
God, when it was seen under an incomprehensible appearance ; ^ 
a man, when it assumed the human form ; and the Aoyo5, 
when it repeated the words of the Father to man. The angels 

5 ««T« roZ Xpurrov tov @iov, " against the Christ of God." Dial. p. 322 C. 
rov lavrou Xpitrrov, "this Christ." D. 

^ tins xa) ^o^et Kvptou v^o rod •rviv/u.aro; tov ky\ov KccXiIrcct, "Xori oi vio;, toti 
ll (To(P'kx,, X. r. i. Dial. p. 284 A, C. ^o^cc rod y-vvr.a-Kvro; . D. 

^ See note 2, p. 46. 

^ xa] olyyiXo; xa,Xt7rut y.ou ocToffroXos' uuros ykp k-rayyiXXtt offcc ou y';co(T- 
^■/jvoci, xu) a-TfoffTiXXiTui iJt,nvv(ra)v offu, ayyiXXiTon. Apol, i. p. 95 -^ (79)' 
See p. 60 A (15). Dial. pp. 275 C, 276 D, 283 C, D. y-iyaXvis ^ovXns 
ayyiXov, pp. 301 C, 321 A, 355 B, 356 C. In p. 25 1 B, we find an 
enumeration of the names given to Christ in Scripture. (ixiriXsvs, hptvs, 
©sof, xuptos, ccyyiXos, av^pw^os, ap^KTrp^.r-Ay);, Xl6o?, tki^iov. See also pp. 3^3 
C, 327 C, 355 B. aiuvto; riuTv vojuos xcci nXivrouog o XpiirTo; llii'vi, pp. 228 B, 

242 A, 261 C, 271 C, 346 C. 
■*' Dial. p. 358 A. 

^ \v M^CtlpnTCMl TOTl ipCiVrKCTK/.. 



Writinos of Jitstin Martyr. 5 1 

also were emanations from the Father of the same kind. In 
opposition to this opinion, Justin maintains that the angels 
have a distinct, and positive, and permanent existence, and are 
not resolved into the substance from which they issued ; and 
that the power to which the word of prophecy gives the titles 
of God and angel is not merely the Father under a different 
name, but is numerically distinct from Him.'^ 

With respect to the human nature of Christ, Justin uniformly 
speaks of Him as perfect man,^ but without sin.^ He seems, 
however, to have thought that the divine nature in Christ was 
so blended with the human as to be in a certain sense com- 
municated to it. For, speaking of the moral precepts of 
Christ, he says that the cause of their perfection is to be sought 
in the nature of Him by whom they were delivered. ju,eyaXet- 
orepa /xei^ ovv Trdarjs avOpiDTretov SiSacTKaAtas (^atVerat to. rjfxeTepa 

^ ov^, ci>s TO TQV h^'iov (pu?, ovQfxKri fiovov ccfi^fitUTUi, ocXXot, xai upi^fiu iTip'ov Tt 
iffrlv, p. 358 C. Compare p. 276 E. on ovrog rs rZ ^ Afipocotf^ kcc) tu 
'la,xaj[i Kou ru Maitrt? ut^Sai kiyof/.ivo;, Kcci yiypa./yt.pi.ivo; @io;, irtpo; Itrrt rou tcc 
-TTavrot. 'roin(ra,vroi @iov, upi^i^S Xiyu, aAX' oh yvu[jt,7f' ovhlv yu.p <P'/if/,i uvrov 
Ti'Tpa^'ivui Tori n aTip ccuro; rov Koerf4,ov Tor/nras, vTsp ov ciXXos olx. siTTt ©£«?, 
fii(iouk'/ircii Ko.) Tpei^oii xei) oju,iXii<rcci, p. 285 D. Tpog rivcc kou a,pi^fjt-M ovroe. 
'irspov, XoytKov vfupp^^^ovret, and p. 359 B, quoted in note 2, p. 49. 

^ KO,] uTotiixvuuv oTi a,k'/,^a; yiyoviv oiv^pwro; ocvtiX'/i^tipcms Ta,6uv. (f. ccvri- 
XriTTiKos Toi^uv.) Dial. p. 325 A. kol) ti IxvrotJ ofioioTxhus ySVOfiiVOV Kx) §/5«- 
^KVTos raZrx. ApoL ii. p. 49 A. ycai ykp yivv^h)? %vva[/,iv rhv xvrou 'icr^i, x.u,i 
av^dvuv Kxrk ro xoivov ruv ccXXuv xTcivrMv xvSpuTuv, ^puf/,ivo; roi; xpfioC,oiiiTiv, 
Ixxa'Tyi xl^ri(fit ro olxiiov awsv;/^;, rpi(pof/.ivo; rx; Txa-x; rpo(pxSf x. r. £., 
pp. 315 C, 328 E, 332 D. Justin founds a singular argument in proof of 
the supernatural birth of Christ on the words of Dan. vii. 13, 14. orxv yxp 
ut v'iov xvCpu'Ttou X$yyi AxvihX rov 7rKpxXxfz.(ixvovrx rhv xlaviov (ixtriXuxv, ovx xvro 
rovro xWiffcnrxi ; ro yxp us viov xf^puTov itTuv, (pxtvo/xsvov fnv xxi yivof/,ivov 
xv^peoTov f/,nvvii, olx l| xv^puTivov Ti ffTipfiXTos v'Txp^'^ovrx oijXoT, p. 301 •''^• 
See p. 25, note 2. See also p. 331 E, where there appears to be an 
allusion to the Docetre. In p. 327 A, Justin assigns reasons why Christ 
called Himself the Son of man. 

^ xXXx Tph ro «vxju,xpr'/iro; iTvai. Dial. p. 330 A, D. See also pp. 337 
E, 234 D, 235 B, 241 B, 254 B. 



52 Sonic Account of the 

Sta rovTo, Xoy LKvv to oXov rov cfiuvevTa (Thirl by would read 
Slol to Xojlkuv oXov tov (jiavivra, Pearson Sta tov to) Sl rjfxa^ 
XpLCTTOv yeyovevai kol (Tojfxa kol Xoyov Koi KJ/v^^rjv.^ Where, 
whether we interpret Kal Ao'yov of the Divine Nature, or suppose 
it equivalent to vovv as distinguished from ij/vxqvj Justin must 
be understood to say that Christ was XoyiKos as to the whole 
of His human nature. It should, however, be observed that, 
according to Justin, the whole human race participated of the 
Aoyos. In the First Apology'^ he supposes an objection of this 
nature to be made — that they who lived before Christ entered 
upon His ministry and taught mankind how to believe and act, 
could not be held accountable for their actions ; to which he 
answers — that Christ, the first-born of God, was the reason 
(Aoyos) of which the whole human race participated ; so that 
all who Uved according to reason (/^era Xoyov) were Christians, 
even though they were reputed to be atheists ; for instance, 
Socrates, Heraclitus, and others, amongst the Greeks; Abraham, 
Ananias, Azarias, Misael, Elias, amongst the barbarians.^ 
While on the contrary, they who lived contrary to reason (avcu 
Xoyov) were bad men and enemies of Christ ; and, as Justin 
means his reader to infer, equally accountable with those who 

^ Apol. ii. p. 48 B. 

2 P. 83 B (56). Compare A^ol. ii. p. 41 E. (jlitu. "k'oyov hpSoZ (lioucriv, 
''they live by the aid of a true reason." Christ was in part known to 
Socrates. Aj)ol. ii. p. 48 E. 

3 h (ixplicipois. As Justin here calls Abraham, etc., barbarians, in com- 
pliance with the prejudices of the heathens whom he is addressing, may 
not what he says respecting the seed of the word, implanted in the 
breasts of all men, be said in accommodation to the same prejudices, 
with the view of procuring a more favourable reception for the doctrine 
of the Aoyos ? Le Nourry and the Benedictine editors have taken some 
pains to rescue Justin from the suspicion, founded on this passage, that 
he believed that the Gentiles could, by the mere light of reason, attain 
to eternal salvation. See Casaubon, Exercit. ad Baronii Atrnales, i. i . 
In Apol. i. p. 96 E (81), Justin says that Abraham, Isaac, etc., were the 
first who applied themselves to the study of divine thing?. 



IWitings of Justin Ma7'tyi\ 53 

lived wickedly after Christ's coming. Whatever right opinions 
the Gentile philosophers entertained respecting the nature of 
the Deity/ the relation in which man stands to Him, and the 
duties arising out of that relation, were to be ascribed to this 
seed of the word implanted in their bosoms. But to them 
was given only a small portion : the true believer in Christ 
alone possesses its fulness.^ 

As it was the Adyos who suggested to the Gentile philo- 
sophers and lawgivers whatever right notions they possessed, 
so was it also the Adyos who inspired the ancient prophets. 
We have already cited one passage to this effect ; ^ but the 
same statement occurs repeatedly in Justin's writings. 

1 oh yap f^ovov "EXXtia-t ^la, 'Euxpa.Tcv; v-tto X'oyou 'hXtyX-^n raZra (the absur- 
dities of the Gentile polytheism) aXX« ko.) Iv ^a,p!iu,poi? y^r' eAvroZ toZ 
X'oyov f^op(pei)6ivro;, ko.) avSpu-TTov yivof/.ivov, na) 'l'/i<roZ XpiffroZ xX'/jhvroi. Apol. 
i. p. 56 A (7).. Here an opposition seems to be intended between Acyo-, 
and Aoyes, " Reason " and the " Logos ;" but it is not observed in other 
passages, ^ici to 'ifycipuTov crccvr) yivu av^pu'Tcdv ff'^ripf/.cc tou Xoyou. Apol. U, 
p. 46 C. o\ yap ffvyypaipu; •^ravrs; ^la, rr,$ ivovffns lf/'(pvrov rov Xoyov ff'TropM; 
a,[jt.vhpwi i^vvoiVTO opav ra, ovra,. irzpov yap ia'Tt ff'TTipy-a nvo; xai f^tf/,fif/.a xara 
'Bvvaf/.iv ^oHv' Ka) 'inpov aiiro ov, x,aTa ;^a,piv rh a-r Ixuvov, h (/.iroviria xai 
f/.ifiyitns yiyvirat, p. 5 1 D. a^o fiipous raZ (r<7rip(/.artx,oZ 6uov Xoyov, p. 5 1 C. 
ohv "prapa vaffi ff'Tf'ipfJt.a.ra aXf]0uccs "Soxti iivai. Apol. i. p. 82 A (52). As the 
word A'oyo', in Justin's writings is used in three different senses, for the 
Reason or Word of God— the second Person in the Trinity ; for reason 
generally ; and for speech or the word spoken ; we may expect to find 
occasional difficulty in determining the precise sense in which it is used. 
See Casaubon, tibi supra. 

2 Tflyj {y.n) Kara ffTTip^ariKoZ Xoyov [/.ipo;, aXXa Kara rhv rov -Travro; Xoyov, 
'^ Iffrt XpiffroZ {L Xpio'ros), yvuffiv Ka) ^ieoplav. ApoL \\. p. 46 C. oW yap 
xaXui at) i(p6iylavro Ka) iSpov 01 (piXo/ro(priTavrii n vo[zoSir'A(ravri?, Kara Xoyov 
f/Apog ivpiffius Ka) hupla; \<rr) Tovfi^ivra avroTs. WuPyi Ti ov ■^dvra ra roZ X'oyov^ 
lyvuptffav, 05 iffrt Xpta-ro;, Ka) havr'ia savroT; -TtoXXaKis sItov, p. 48 C. oi 
■riffnvovrii alrZ uit)v av^pu-roi, iv oJ; oIkiI ro 'Ttapa roZ @ioZ ffv'tpf^u,, Aoyo;. 
Apol. i. p. 74 B (41). 3v «]j at) ^vvdf^u f^h ■^dpiirri, Ka) hapyag h -rapi^rai 
Iv rn "^ivripn alroZ "Trapovc'ia (0 Xpicrros). Dial . p. 273 L. 

'^' Apol. ii. p. 49 A, quoted in note 6, p. 47- See also Apol. i. 75 C (43). 

"t/ Ti ovhi\) aXXop CioipopoZvrai 01 ■rpo(pyirivovri;, i't uh Xoyoj ^iUa>, Ka) If^Ui, o^i 



54 Some Accoimt of the 

With respect to the third Person in the Trinity, we have seen 
that Justin represents the Holy Ghost, in conjunction with the 
Father and the Son, as an object of worship. The distinct 
personality of the Holy Spirit is also incidentally asserted.^ It 
is, however, not unworthy of observation that the passages 
most explicitly declaring the doctrine of the Trinity are found 
in the First Apology^ not in the Dialogue ivith TijpJio ; in which 
Justin's principal object was to establish the pre-existence and 
divinity of Christ. When, therefore, he alleges the passage in 
Gen. i. 26, " Let us make man in our image after our like- 
ness," the only inference which he draws is, that the Almighty 
then addressed Himself to some distinct rational being.^ In 
like manner, in alleging Gen. iii. 22, " Lo, Adam is become 
as one of us to know good and evil," he proceeds no further 
than to conclude from the words " as one of us," that there 
were two persons at least in conference with each other ; and 
he afterwards applies them solely to the Son.^ When the Holy 
Spirit is mentioned in the Dialogue^ it is chiefly with reference 
to the inspiration of the prophets, or to His operation on the 
hearts of men. 

But though, in the passages above quoted, a distinct per- 
sonality is ascribed to the Holy Ghost, we find others in which 
the Spirit and the Aoyos seem to be confounded. Thus, in allu- 

vx<jXo!.fji.p>a.vu, (pnffiri. Pi 76 D (45) • y-''^ «'^' ^t^Tuv ruv l/n.'^ri'rviva'/u.ivuv kiyiff- 
&ai vof/.i(r'/iri, aXX' kto rou kivouvtos avrovi 6uov X'oyov. 

^ xa.) avoxpiviTcci avroTs to •Tryivy.a, to Uyiov, *i a.'Tto -rpocreufov tov TXTfo;^ n 

UTTO TOU I^IOV, K. T. I. Dial. p. 255 C. fO"^' OTi ykp TO CCyiOV 'TTVlVfJl.a, xou 

ivetpyas TpxTTiff^ai t;, tvttos tov f^ikkovTo; yty\i(r6a,t riv, IfoUt' tjf oTi oi xa,)' 
X'oyov? i(p0iy^otTo TTip) Tuv ocffoficciviiv fMXXovT&iv, ^6iyyofjt,ivov ccvtov; u; toti 
yiyvofisvuv 55 xki yiyiv/ifUveoVf p. 34I ^> **' ''"'' -t'^-'v oiUTov TpiTov, i-xno-/}, ug 
TposiTo/je-sv, i^civu tuv uharut uviyvu V'tto Muaicos iip^f^ivoy iTKptpiO'^xi to tov 

@iov -TviVfitt. Apol.'x. p. 93 B (72). 
2 Dial. p. 285 D, quoted in note i, p. 51. 

^ ouxouv uTuv, uii us i| '/ifiiov, xa) api0ju.ov rZv u.XXr,Xoi; (Tuvovtuv, xat to 
\7.d,y^nTTo\i SyOj fjt,ifji,yivvxiv. Dial. p. 285 I^, 



Writings of Justin Martyr. 55 

sion to Luke i. 35, " The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, 
and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee," Justin 
says, " It is not allowed me to conceive that the Spirit and 
the power from God is any other than the Word, the first- 
begotten of God."^ Grotius, in his note on Mark ii. 8, says 
that the early Fathers frequently used the word irv^vfjia to signify 
the divine nature in Christ, and quotes this very passage from 
Justin in proof of the statement ; and doubtless the word may 
without any over-refinement be there so understood. Perhaps, 
however, the idea present to their minds was, that as, in the 
mystery of the Incarnation, the Holy Ghost came upon the 
Virgin, and the power of the Highest overshadowed her, and 
the x\oyos thereby became flesli, the Holy Spirit, the power of 
the Highest, and the Aoyos were the same. But Justin attri- 
butes the inspiration of the ancient prophets sometimes to the 
Aoyo9, sometimes to the Holy Spirit.^ Here it is difficult to 
interpret the latter of the divine nature in Christ, and yet the two 

^ TO TViVfAce, ovv xx) rhv ^vvufiiv rhv Tocpx rod @iov oloiv oiXXo vono'ix.i hf^i;, % 
Tov X'oyov, o; kui TpuroToxo; ru QiM Itrri, Apol. i. p. 75 -^ (43)' Compare 
this passage with Dial. p. 327 C. The ancients were very fond of con- 
trasting Eve with the Virgin Mary. As, through Eve, a virgin, sin was 
brought into the world, so, through Mary, a virgin, has its power been 
destroyed. <'v« »«) %! va ohou « k'Pfo raZ o(pi&>; 'Xa.fa.Kon fnv upx^v j'Xa/3£, diK 
ravrns Trts o^ov kou x.u.TO.Xvffiv X«/3>j, •^a.fiSivo; yup outrce, Eva xa) ecip^opo; tov 
X'oyov TOV a.To tov o(piu5 av'ky.a.^ouffa,^ 'Tfa.pocKonv xiu 6a.vcf.Tov tTiKi, k. t. £. 
" For in the same way that disobedience was first brought into the world 
by the serpent, so also it was destroyed ; for Eve, the incorrupt virgin, con- 
ceiving the word from the serpent, brought forth disobedience and death." 
Eve conceived the word from the serpent, Mary the Word from God. 

2 See note 6, p. 47, and note 3, p. 43. ««' ^raX/v kIto; ■ffpo(pnT7.i 
'Ha-eciccs, 6iO<popovfjt.ivo; t^ <ffvivy.ce,Ti tm 'rpo(p'/iTix,M, i(pyi, " And again the same 
prophet Isaiah, as he was moved by the prophetic Spirit, says." P. ']6 A 
(44). For the Aiyo?, see Dial. pp. 268 B, C, 314 B, C, 370 C. For the 
Holy or Prophetic Spirit, Dial. pp. 242 C, 249 E, 271 D, 274 B, 275 C, 
277 B, D, 284 A. Apol. i. pp. 72 B (38), 94 E {'J^). In p. 243 C, we 
find xiyu yap @%o; lia. 'Ha-xiov, "For God says by Isaiah." The same 
Spirit Who inspired ihe i>rophets also anointed the Jewish kings. Dial. 
pp. 272 B, 313 C. 



56 Some Acco2int of the 

appear to be identified. I know no other mode of explaining 
this fact than by supposing that, as the Aoyos was the con- 
ductor of the whole gospel economy, Justin deemed it a matter 
of indifterence whether he said that the prophets were inspired 
by the Aoyos, or by the Holy Spirit Who was the immediate 
agent. The Holy Spirit is called in Scripture the Spirit of 
Christ.i 

Had the work which Justin composed in confutation of the 
heretics of his day {Apol. i. p. 70 C (36)) come down to our 
hands, we should probably have obtained a clearer insight into 
his notions on these abstruse subjects. As it is, we cannot 
doubt that he maintained a real Trinity ; whether he would 
have explained it precisely according to the Athanasian 
scheme is not equally clear ; but I have observed nothing in 
the Apologies or in the Dialogue ivith Trypho which appears 
to me to justify a positive assertion to the contrary. Those 
passages which seem to imply an inferiority in Christ to the 
Father may without any forced construction be understood of 
the part borne by Christ in conducting the economy. 

In the first chapter ^ we mentioned that Justin accused the 
Jews of having erased from the prophecy of Jeremiah a 
passage which is not found in any copy, either Greek 
or Hebrew. The purport of the passage is that the Lord 

' Rom. viii. 9 ; Gal. iv. 6 ; Phil. i. 19 ; i Pet. i. 11. In the last passage, 
the immediate reference is to the inspiration of the prophets. In the 
following passage Justin says that the prophets saw visions : b iKcrraffit. 
TovTov %i avrov ovx, iv rr u.'ffox.a.Xv^ii alrov lupuKU o ^po(pnT'/i;, ciff'TTip oloi tov 
^i»[iokov xx) Tov Tov T^vpiov a-yyiXov ovx, a.lro'^tK iv KU.ra.ffru.ffii iov lupuKU, 
uxyJ iv ixcTo.a'u aTTofcaXv-^iu; ocvtm yiyiwiy-'iv/i;, " In a trance. For the 
prophet saw Him not in revelation, even as he did not see the devil nor 
the angel of God with his own eyes in person, but being taken out of 
himself, as it were, he saw Him in a vision." Dial. p. 343 A. 

^ P. 33, note 5. Observe the expression \v ffoov /j.ivuv, "to remain in 
, Hades," p. 326 C. 



Writings of Jit sf in Martyr. 57 

God remembered the dead among the Israehles ^\ho were 
His, and descended to preach His salvation to them. Here 
we have an approach to the doctrine of Christ's descent into 
hell. 



CHAPTER III. 

Justin's opinions respecting original sin, the freedom 
OF the will, grace, justification, predestination. 

Man, according to Justin, was created an inteUigent and 
rational being, capable of choosing the truth, and securing 
his own happiness, and consequently capable of transgression :^ 
for this is the property of everything created that it is capable 
of virtue and vice ; ^ and on this capacity of choosing good 
and evil Justin rests the accountableness of men and angels.^ 
What were Justin's opinions respecting the change made by 

Kou Tnv ap^hv voipov Kcc) oiivcifiivov alpilirfai t«X>5^>j, kcu lu TpuTritM, to 
yivo; TO uv^pw^ivov TtToiyixiv, uitt KvciTToXoy/jTov I'lvai Toii "TTuffiv avSpw^rot; 
<ffot.pa Tu &iZ' XoyiKo) yup kk) ^icopy,Tizoi yzyiv^Tcci, Apol. i. p. 7' ^ (37)* 

In Dial. p. 259 A, the body of Adam is said to have been made the 
habitation of the inspiration from God : toZ iiJt,(pvir'/if^a,Toi tov Tccpa. toZ Qiov. 

See also p. 316 A. «X^' u? lyiyvuffKi kkXov uvxi yiviffSoit, \<7roiviiTiv alTi^ovcrtov? 
-ffpos ^ixetia^pa^ixv xki ayyiXov; kk) k^Spu'Teovs. • kcc) ^povovs aipiin f/.s^pt; ov 
iy'iyveoirxz xccXov t'lvxi to ccvTi^ouffiov s^''^ auTov;' xou oTt (f. ots) xkXov uvcti 
ofjt-o'tco; lyvupiZ,i, ku.) kccSoXiku,? kk) [/Apixa.; xpiffus iTohi, TK^vXayusvov f^iVTOi 
TOV avTs^oua-iov, p. 329 A. 

^ yivv'/^Tov Ti -preiVTo; ^'^j '/i (pvffi?, y.a,yAu.i xou apiTYi; oiztikov uvki, k. t. i. 

Apol. ii. p. 45 E. 

^ TO d \^ecxoXov§7ia'0!.i o'l; ipiXov ocItcu, a'tpovfMvou; 01 uv u.vTOi ioci)pYi<Ta.Ta XoyixMv 
^wdf^iuv, 'pn'thi Ti xa) st; tio'tiv ciyn ^^S;. Apol. i. p. 5S C (l3)' Here 
we have something like preventing grace, xm 1i \a.vTov$ yiuu? ol eL'/SpuTroi, 

xoCi ot ciyytXoi, iXsyp(^^yia'o/u.'Jcc Tov/ipi'JffccjU.ivoi, \u.v uh (pf<i<ru,vTi? uiTOi$uu'Ja, 

Dial, p. 370 C. 



58 So))ie Account of the 

ihe fall in man's condition, with reference to this capacity of 
choosing good and evil, does not clearly appear. He speaks 
of a concupiscence existing in every man, evil in all its 
tendencies, and various in its nature ; ^ and on one occasion 
seems to distinguish between original and actual sin.^ He says 
also that man, being born the child of necessity and ignorance, 
becomes by baptism the child of choice and knowledge ; but 
the necessity and ignorance in which man is said to be born 
are not referred to the transgression of Adam.^ 

From the indistinctness of Justin's language respecting the 
effects of the fall on the posterity ot Adam, we may expect 
to find an equal indistinctness on the subject of grace. He 
insists, however, repeatedly that man stands in need of 
illumination from above, in order to be enabled rightly to 
understand the sacred Scriptures;* and we find something 
resembling converting grace in Dial p. 344 A. 

^ (rvfjt,f/,a^ov kafiovTis <rhv iv Ixuffrco Kuxriv Tpos Teivra, ku) -TroixiXyiv (pvirn 
I'TTthy.la.v. Apol. i. p. 58 E (13). 

^ aXX' v<7f\f rod y'lvovi rov ruv •jivSpu'Veov, o ecfo rov Adoif/> v^ro ^dvurov 
Kcc) TXdvtiv rnv rov o(piojs i'^i'^ruKii, •^ra.fo, t^v /o/av ulrlocv Ixacrov a-lruv 
<^ovt]fivffeifiivov. Dial, p. 316 A. 

I'TCuon rfjv rrpturyiv yiviffiv '/ifjt-cujv wyvoowns xa.r ccvayxr/V yiyivvri/x-fci i^ 
vypecs 0'1'opcis xccra. fcl^iv rhv ruv yoviuv 'ffpoi uXXyiXovf^ xai tv tSiffi (paukois 
xai Tov'/ipaT; a,vccrpo<paTs yiyova.fjt.iv^ oTm; f/,vi avccyxr,; rixva fi'/iot ecyvoias f/,ivu- 
fji.lv, aXX« 'TpoecipiffiMi xcc) i'7tKTrriy,r,i, x, r. t, Apol, i. p. 94 ^ (76)' The 
opposition between the first and second birth in this passage implies that 
the baptized person is an adult. In Dial. p. 353 E, Justin says that 
Adam, by his transgression, brought death upon himself; but Christians, 
if they keep God's commandments, can attain to a state of exemption 
from suffering and of immortality, and are thought worthy to be called 
the sons of God. 

■• Dial. pp. 247 A, 250 C. Qvo\ ykp 'bvvu.y.t; l/Jt-o) roiccvrn ns iirr)v, k'k'kk 
X^P'i '^t^poi' &10V fjLovv) £<V ro trvviivxi raj ypeupa; avrov IdoSn f^oi' yis X,"-?''"^ 
xai vuvrocs xoivuvovi a,fji.t(r6ur) xot,) a(p0oveos TctpuxoiXu yiyvtirdxi, pp. 280 B, 
305 A. £i ouv ri; f^h fiira fjciyxXm x'^piroi rn? •ffotpa, @iov Xafioi vo^ffut rk 
up'/]fyt,ivoe, xa.) yiysvyi/u.iva vTo ruv '^po(pyiruv, ohdiv alrh ovncru ro ru.i priirsii 

}oxi7v Xiyitv, pp. 319 B, 326 E, 346 E. The inability of the Jews to 



Wrilijtgs of Jitstin Martyr. 59 

On the subject of justification, Justin is sufficiently clear and 
explicit. He uniformly assigns the merits or death of Christ 
as the cause, and faith as the medium by which we are justified. 
By Christ's stripes we are healed ; ^ by His stripes all are healed 
who approach the Father through Him : '^ by His blood all 
who believe on Him are purified ;^ the Father willed that He 
should bear for the whole human race the curses due to all ; ^ 
He endured the servitude even of the cross in behalf of the 
various races of men, having purchased them by His blood 
and the mystery of the cross.^ The names of Helper and 
Redeemer are appHed to Christ, though with an immediate 
reference to the power of casting out demons in His name.^ 
With respect to the medium of justification, it is asserted that 
men are purified by faith through the blood and death of 
Christ ; ^ and that Abraham was not justified by circumcision, 
but by faith.^ In order, however, to secure the benefits arising 

understand the Scriptures was the eflect of a judicial blindness inflicted 
on them by God, p. 274 E. Compare p. 287 E. 

^ yKJI^e X^ivd^'/in avrou tovs fji.uXu'Tra.s, oJs la^ijvxi 'Jru.fft ovvktov, tu; kki ny'it; 
id^nfciv. Dial. p. 366 D. See also p. 323 B. 

^ 1! oZ tZv f^eoXuruv "afft? yiyvirai roT; ^/' airoti iTi tov ToiTipa. Tpoo'X'-'- 
fovffiv. Dial. p. 234 A. 

^ -ffpoayyikriKOV «v rod Toi^ov; oS -^cctrx'-'v if/.tXXs, V ccl[/,a.Tos KctSa-ipm rou: 
•r,ffrivovra.s avTu. Apol i. 74 A (41). Dial. pp. 259 A, 273 E, 338 D. 
0/' avTMV Ta^ovTCt koyov, p. 33^ -^* 

* £< ouv kk) rov lavrov XpiffTov v^rlp tmv Ix txvtos yivovg ot.v&pu'ffm o 'ffarnp 
TMV oXmv ras Tavrav Ka.ra.pai a.\ahi\aiT6a.i i(iovX^h. Dial. p. 322 E. 
Observe the whole passage. 

* ''^ov'Kivtn xa) t^v (Jt-iXP* ffravpov '^ouXiia.v o Xpiffros v-np tmv ik -Travro; 
yivovs -roiKiXuv xat -roXvii^uv a,vSpu-?fm, h' m[/.a70? xa.) f/.vffr'/ipiov tov irravpov 
xv'/jifa.fji.ivoi avTov;. Dial. p. 3^4 -D. 

^ lio'/i^ov 'yap ixiTvov xx) XvrpuTm xaXovf^iv, oS xa.) rh rov hvo[/,a.70S Iffxyv 
Koi Ta ^aif/,ovia, rpsf/,ii x. r. i. Dial. p. 247 C. 

^ xa.) [ji.nxiTi dlya.(fi rpayuv xa.) -TrpoliaTcov, ^ (TTo'^m day.a.Xiu;, n (nyidaXiui 
'7fpo(r<popa,7s xa^api^oyivov?, aXXa. 'Xitfru liia. roZ alyaros rov XpiffroZ xa) rov 
eavxrov a.vrod, os ^/« roZro «*£^av£v. Dial. p. 229 E. a'iyan ffaimpr.j 
Ti'TKrrivxa/u.iv, pp. 24I E, 259 A, 273 E, 338 D. 

8 xa) yap alros 'Afopuay, h uxpofivffria ^v, ha, rm Titrriv h l-rlffriviri r^ 



6o Some Account of the 

from Christ's death, repentance and a renunciation of our past 
evil habits are necessary.^ It has been already observed that 
Justin, in interpreting Gen. xlix. ii, says that the Holy Spirit 
calls those who have received remission of sins through Christ 
His garments.- We may not find in Justin those nice and 
subtle distinctions which controversy subsequently introduced 
into the question of justification ; but the substance of the 
true doctrine is there — that man is justified on account of the 
merits of Christ through faith, of which faith a holy life is the 
fruit. 

We have seen that Justin maintained such a degree of 
freedom in men as rendered them accountable for their actions. 
When, however, he is urging the argument from prophecy in 
the First Apology^ an objection of this kind seems to have 
occurred to him — that events, in order to be predicted, must 
be foreknown — that what is foreknown must be irreversibly 
fixed — and consequently, that whatever happens, happens by 
a fatal necessity ; men have nothing in their own power, and 
are not accountable for their conduct. In reply to this objec- 
tion, and in order to show that men act well and ill by their 
own free choice, Justin argues thus : — " We see that the con- 
duct of the same man is various at different times ; is sometimes 

e)=f "ihtx.a.iui'/i. Dial. pp. 241 C, 319 E. Apol. i. p. 60 D (17). In p. 
327 E, Justin says that the Fathers who hoped in God confessed Christ, 
'hn'^uTixa. iffri tou koc) <ffaripxs avrov o/^coXoyiTv rov; iXTta'ctvrcc; It) tov @sov. 

' uTecXXci.'yhv ^£ rod 6a,va.rov Toii fjt.ira.yiytuiTx.ovffiv uTo ruiv (pxvXw'v ku) 
Ttffnvovirtv sJj ccvtov \pya.Z,iroi.i, Dial. p. 3^7 E. rovTo ai Itrnv &>;, /u,;Ta- 
vorttfot'i 25r/ ToTs ky.a.Dr'A[ji.Kffi, roov afj.apTYii/.a.rMV Tctpce, tou @iov Xoifi'/i «(p5(r;v* aXX 
ovx ^i uf/-i7; ucrwroiri Ixvrov;, x-cci aXXci tivi; v/iaTv 0//-0101 xara tovto, 01 
Xiyouffiv oTi Kciv ccf/.afi'ruXo) ufft, ®iov o\ yiyvaffKMffiv, oh [///i XoyKTYiroci avroi; 
Kvpto; a/^ecprleiv, p. 370 D. See also pp. 267 A and 259 D, where Christ 
is said to have been an offering for all sinners who would repent and live 
righteously. 

" Dial. p. 273 E, quoted in p. 25, note 2. A nearly similar thought 
occurs in p. 344 B. 

' P. 80 D (51). Compare Tucker, Z/^/// of Ahxtii7-e, vol. iv. p. 282. 



Writings of Justin Martyr. 6i 

good, sometimes bad; but this could not be the case if his 
character was fixed by a fatal necessity — if it was fated that 
he should be either good or bad. Nor would some men be 
good, and some bad, since in that case we should represent 
fate as at variance with itself, or place no distinction between 
virtue and vice, making them dependent only on opinion. 
This only is irreversibly fated, that they who choose what is 
good shall be rewarded ; they who choose what is evil, punished. 
For man cannot be a fit object either of reward or punish- 
ment, if he is virtuous or wicked, not by choice, but by birth." 
In another place, he says that events are foretold, not because 
they happen from a fatal necessity, but because God foreknows 
what man will do.^ He brings forward a cavil of the Jews, 
either real or supposed, to this effect, that if it was foretold 
that Christ should die on the cross, and that they who caused 
His death should be Jews, the event could not fall out other- 
wise,^ To this he replies that God is not the cause that men, 
of whom it is predicted that they shall be wicked, prove 
wicked ; but they are themselves the cause ; and if the 
Scripture foretells the punishment of certain angels and men, 
it is because God foreknows that they will be unchangeably 
wicked, not because He has made them so. He illustrates his 
meaning by a reference to the prediction that the Messiah 
should enter Jerusalem seated on an ass."^ That prediction, he 
says, did not cause Him to be the Messiah, but pointed out to 
mankind a mark by which they might know that He was the 
Messiah. In all these passages there is no mention of pre- 
destination : God foreknows events, but does not preordain 
them.^ He acts, however, or rather forbears to act, in con- 
sequence of this foreknowledge : for instance, He defers the 

^ r. 82 A (52). See Dial. p. 234 B. " Dial. p. 370 A. 

^ Dial. p. 316 A. 

* On one occasion Justin says that through Christ we are called to a 
salvation prepared beforehand by the Father, %i ol iKyJiSni^i^ u; (rur'/if'iKv 
rhv ^rporiToif^ufff^iv/iv -rupa, rov •rix.rpoi 'au.uv. Dial. p. 30O D. 



62 Some Account of the 

punishment of the devil and his angels out of consideration 
to the human race, because He foreknows that many, now 
living or yet unborn, will repent and be saved ; and He will not 
therefore bring on the consummation of all things, until the 
number of those foreknown to be good and virtuous shall be 
accomplished.^ It should be observed that these remarks are 
for the most part introduced incidentally, and ought not there- 
fore to be construed too strictly. If Justin held the doctrine 
of predestination at all, it must have been in the Arminian 
sense — ex prcevisis nieritis.^ 

On the subject of the Divine Providence, Justin held that 
it was not merely general, but exended to particular men and 
events. For, speaking of the philosophers, he says that the 
greater part of them never bestowed a thought on the inquiry, 
whether there was one God or many ; and whether the Divine 
Providence extended to each individual or not, conceiving that 
such knowledge contributed nothing towards happiness.^ Nay, 

^ Apol. i. p. 7^1^ k^il^' ^^^ y^P ^ I'^ijU.ovh rov /u,'/i^iTu Tovro 'Trfa.^a.i -rov &-ov 
oia. TO avSpooTivov yivo; yiyiv'/,-o(,i. <7rpoyiyvM<T>cn ya,p rivag tK f/,iroe.vo'nx.s aca6'kiTiir&tt.i 
fAZkXovra;, xtti tivks fjt.nVi'rot) "ttTwi yivvy,^ivra?. See also p. 82 D (55)* ***' 
ffvvriXia'S'n kpiS^oi twv ^poiyvafffjiiveov kvtm ayctSuv ytyvofcivcov koc.) Ivxpi-rav, 01 
ovs KKi (AYi^i'ffoi) TYiv WiKvpufftv Ti'^oirirKi. Scc also Apol. 11. p. 45 B ; Dial. p. 
258 A. In pp. 261 B and 297 A, Justin speaks of those who are fore- 
known to believe in Christ, and to exercise themselves in the fear of the 
Lord ; and in p. 346 C, he says that the wonderful providence of God 
was the cause that the Christians were found wiser and more pious than 
the Jews, through the calHng of the new and eternal covenant. See also 
p. 364 C, KXTot, %i T^v Tot/^iv Kou KOCTo. T^v 9rpoyvci)(riv, oTToTo; sxairros sa'rai, 
TpoXiktxroci, where the allusion is to Jacob's prediction respecting the 
character and fortune of his sons and their posterity. 

2 See BiaL pp. 319 E, 370 C, 234 B. 

^ P. 217 E. The concluding words of this sentence are perhaps corrupt, 

certainly obscure, — Wu evV av '/iv^ofz.i^et airaJ ^i' oXns vuxros Kou yifj(.'ipa,i. I 

follow the translation in Thirlby's edition ; the Benedictines translate, 
" neque fore ut eum lota nocte ac die precaremur," which is ambiguous. 
Justin uses the expression "^toixriTiv rov xofff/.iv with reference to the divine 



IVrilings of Justin Martyj'. 6 



o 



he adds, " they endeavour to persuade us that God watches 
over the universe, and genera and species, but not over me 
and you and each individual ; since, if He did, we should not 
pray to Him day and night." Justin's view of the subject is 
agreeable to the language of Scripture and to the dictates of 
common sense ; for a providence like that above described 
is evidently no providence at all, or at least can furnish no 
ground of love towards God — no motive to devotion. I do 
not think that this account of Justin's opinion is at variance 
with the fact that in another passage, to which I shall here- 
after have occasion to refer, he says that God entrusted the 
care of the world to the angels. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Justin's opinions respecting baptism and the eucharist, 
with a particular reference to a passage in the 
first apology. 

In the First Apology, p. 93 E (73), Justin tells the Emperors 
that he will detail to them the mode in which the Christian 
converts, being renewed through Christ, dedicate themselves to 
God. " x\s many," he says, " as are persuaded, and believe 
that what we teach is true, and undertake to conform their 
lives to our doctrine, are instructed to fast and pray, and 
entreat from God the remission of their past sins, we fasting 
and praying together with them. They are then conducted 
by us to a place where there is water, and are regenerated in 
the same mnnner in which we were ourselves regenerated. 

governance, p. 246 E. In p. 91 D (70), sv r^^s tT, 'hiotK-hfu seems to be 
equivalent to in this world. 



64 - Some Account of tJie 

For they are then washed in the name of God the Father 
and Lord of the universe, and of our Saviour Jesus Christ, 
and of the Holy Spirit." Justin then alleges in -^xooi of the 
necessity of this regeneration, John iii. 3, and Isa. i. 16,1 which 
he supposes to have been prophetic of Christian baptism; 
and states that the apostles had transmitted both the mode 
of performing the rite and the reason on which the necessity 
for its observance rested. "Since," he says, "at our first 
birth we were born without our knowledge or consent — in 
order that we may not remain the children of necessity and 
ignorance, but may become the children of choice and know- 
ledge, and may obtain in the water remission of the sins which 
we have committed, the name of God the Father and Lord 
of the universe is pronounced over him who wishes to be 
regenerated, and has repented of his sins," etc.^ Justin then 
runs off, as is his custom, into a long digression respecting 
the washings and other ceremonies introduced at the sugges- 
tion of the demons into the religious worship of the Gentiles, 
in imitation either of what was actually enjoined in the Mosaic 
law, or was foretold by the prophets as afterwards to take 
place under the Christian dispensation.^ He proceeds to 
animadvert on the blindness of the Jews, who maintained that 
it was the Father, not the Son, Who conversed with Moses 
and ^the patriarchs ; thereby showing that they knew neither 

^ This passage is again referred to in p. 81 D (52) and Dial. p. 229 E, 
where, in the words aXXa, u% slxo?, ^eiXai rovro ixuvo TO trurvipiov Xovrpov 
^v, uTiTo ToTs fiiTMyt'yvua-Kovtn, " But as was fitting that was that 
ancient saving washing which follows those who repent," there appears 
to be an allusion to i Cor. x. 4. The Benedictine editors, for u-riro, read 
j7?r£, TO. Compare pp. 235 E, 342 B, 369 C. See also pp. 263 C, 231 C. 

^ The passage is quoted in p. 58, note 3. 

* Justin observes that the name (pur kt 1^.0?, "illumination," was given to 
baptism : KaXtiTai oi rovro to Xovrpov (pMri(r/u,os, u? (puri^of/,ivciJV Tijv ^jccvoiocv 
TMv raura [/.avSavovruv, "This baptism is Called illumination because the 
minds of the catechumens who are thus washed are illuminated," p. 94 

D (76). (puri^of/.ivoi Ita, rov ovof^ccTo; rov Xpia-rou tovtou, " Being illuminated 

by the name of this Christ." Z>ia/. pp. 258 A, 351 A. 



W7^2 tings of Just ill Martyr. 65 

the Father nor the Son. Returning at length to the mode of 
initiating the new convert, he says/ '' After we have thus washed 
him who has expressed his conviction, and assented to our 
doctrines, we take him to the place where those who are called 
brethren are assembled, in order that we may offer up earnest 
prayers in common for ourselves and for the baptized person, 
and for all others in every place, that, having learned the truth, 
we may be deemed worthy to be found walking in good works, 
and keeping the commandments, so that we may attain to 
eternal salvation. Having ended our prayers, we salute each 
other with a kiss. Bread is then brought to that brother who 
presides, and a cup of wine mixed with water ; and he, taking 
them, gives praise and glory to the Father of the universe 
through the name of the Son and of the Holy Spirit ; and 
employs some time in offering up thanks to Him for having 
deemed us worthy of these gifts. The prayers and thanks- 
givings being ended, all the people present^ express their assent 
by saying Amen, which, in the Hebrew tongue, answers to 
yivoiTo in the Greek. The president having given thanks, 
and the people having expressed their assent, they who arc 
called among us deacons give to each of those present a por- 
tion of the bread and of the wine mixed with water, over whicli 
the thanksgiving was pronounced, and carry away a portion 
to those who are absent. And this food is called among us 
eix^piarU; of which no one is allowed to partake who does 
not believe that what we teach is true, and has not been 
washed with the laver (of baptism) for the remission of sms 
and unto regeneration, and does not live as Christ has enjoined. 
For we do not receive it as common bread and common drink ; 
but in the same manner as Jesus Christ our Saviour, being 
made flesh through the Word of God, had both flesh and 
blood for our salvation ;3 so we are also taught that the food 

^ P Q7 B (82) ^ "^^^ "' ^^Z"^" ^*'*^* 

3 It is not easy to ascertain precisely what Justin meant in this passage, 
which runs thus in the original : «xx' Sv rpo^cy hk x'oyov 0s.. <rafK.'^o,nSu, 



66 Some Account of the 

over which thanksgiving has been pronounced by the prayer 
of the "Word which came from Him, by which food, under- 
going the necessary change, our flesh and blood are nourished, 
we are taught, I say, that this food is the flesh and blood of 
the incarnate Jesus. For the apostles, in the memoirs com- 
])Osed by them, which are called Gospels, have declared that 
Jesus gave them this injunction, that having taken bread and 
given thanks, He said, ' Do this in remembrance of Me, this 
is My body ; ' and that, in like manner, having taken the cup 
and given thanks, He said, 'This is My blood;' and that He 
distributed the bread and wine to them alone." Justin adds, 
that through the suggestion of wicked demons, bread and 
wine were placed before the persons to be initiated into the 
mysteries of Mithras, in imitation of the Eucharist. 

He then proceeds to give an account of the meetings of the 
Christians on the Lord's day. " Afterwards," he says, " we 
remind each other of these things, and they who are wealthy 
assist those who are in need, and we are always together ; and 
over all our offerings we bless the Creator of all things, through 

'I'/iiTov; Xpitr-ro; o ffuTfip riy.uv x,ki <ra,p}cc/. kk) alf/,ot, vrip ffuTYifiu.? yif/.uv tff^iv, 
oura; xa) rhv ^/' thp(yii X'oyou rov 'TTocp avrov ilx,'^pi(Trr,^:7(T(X,v rpoiphv, l^ riS ctif^ex, 
xce.) ffUDK}; KCiTa, fcsrccfioXyiv rp'Kpovrai '/if/.cuv, Ixiivov tov (TapKO-7roir,6iMTOs I'/ktov xui 
ffccpxM Kcc) uJf/.x i^ilax,Sn[^iv uvKi, p. 98 A (89), The commentators in 
general understand the words hk x'oyov @iov, " through the Word of God," 
of the A.oyos, or Word of God, and ^/ ilx^i x'oyov roZ -^tap avrov, "by the 
prayer of the Word which came from Him," of the prayer or blessing 
pronounced by Christ at the time of instituting the Eucharist. (We find 
X'oyM ivx/ii xcci ilx,a.pi!rT'ia;, "by the rational service of prayers and 
praises," p. 60 C (16). In p. 88 €(65), tov 'Tra.pa, tov €iiou Xoyov, "the 
Word of God," and in Dial. p. 328 E, tov 'pra.p ccvtov x'oyov, " the word 
from Him," mean the word which the prophets and Christ were com- 
missioned to deliver from God.) Yet the expression, "Jesus Christ made 
flesh through the Word of God," has a strange sound. We should rather 
ex])ect to find it said that Jesus Christ was the Word made flesh, Aoyo; 
(rccpxoToiyih);, as in p. 74 B (41). See BiaL pp. 264 A, 310 B, 326 E. In p. 
83 E) (57), however, it is said that Christ was born of the Virgin oia. Iwu-y.xui 



Writings of Justin Martyr, 67 

His Son Jesus Christ, and through the Holy Spirit. And on 
the day called Sunday there is an assembhng together of all 
who dwell in the cities or country ; and the memoirs of the 
apostles or the writings of the prophets are read as long as 
circumstances permit. Then, when the reader has ceased, 
the president delivers a discourse, in which he admonishes 
and exhorts (all present) to the imitation of these good things. 
Then we all rise together and pray ; and, as we before said, 
prayer being ended, bread and wine and water are brought, 
and the president offers prayers in like manner, and thanks- 
givings, with his utmost power ; ^ and the people express their 
assent by saying Amen ; and the distribution of that over 
which the thanksgiving has been pronounced takes place to 
each, and each partakes, and a portion is sent to the absent 
by the deacons. And they who are wealthy, and choose, 
give as much as they respectively deem fit ; and whatever is 
collected is deposited with the president, who succours the 
orphans and widows, and those who through sickness or any 
other cause are in want, and those who are in bonds, and the 

roZ X'oyov, " by the power of the Word ;" (§;« Iwuf^iM; @iov, " by the power 
of God," p. 74 D (42)). See p. 49, note 2. Compare p. 61 D (19), lvva,y,ii 
@iov Aoyos a.h~ov r,v, " the power of God was His Logos," p, 75 B (43), 

TO "^rvivfta, 0V3C xcct rhv ovvoif^tv rnv Tocpa rov ©t/iv olViv uXXo vortToct 6i[MS, »? 

Tov koyov, "By the Spirit and power of God we ouglit to understand the 
very Logos." Justin may therefore in like manner have said that Christ 
was made flesh through the Word of God. As it appears to me, Justin 
in this passage does not intend to compare the manner in which Jesus 
Christ, being made flesh by the Word of God, had flesh and blood for our 
sake, with that in which the bread and wine, over which the thanksgiving 
appointed by Christ has been pronounced, become the flesh and blood of 
Christ ; but only to say that, as Christians were taught that Christ had 
flesh and blood, so were they also taught that the bread and wine in the 
Eucharist are the body and blood of Christ ; ov Tfo^rov is merely equivalent 
to as. 

'off'/] oiivKfx,!; ccvTM avcc-7rif^<Tii. vSo oiT'/i ovvccyA; ccivot/vn;, p. OO C(l5). T. he 

word a.va.'Trif/.'Trii seems to imply that these prayers and thanksgivings were 
offered in a loud tone of voice. 



68 Some Account of the 

strangers sojourning among us, and, in a word, takes care of 
all who are in need. But we meet together on Sunday because 
it is the first day in which God, having wrought the necessary 
change in darkness and matter, made the world ; and on this 
day Jesus Christ our Saviour rose from the dead. For He 
was crucified on the day before that of Saturn ; and on the 
day after that of Saturn, which is the day of the Sun, having 
appeared to the apostles and disciples. He taught them the 
things which we now submit to your consideration." 

To take the particulars stated in this passage in their order. 
We find regeneration connected with the rite of baptism. ^ In 
the Dialogue^ baptism is called the laver of repentance and of 
the knowledge of God, which was appointed for the sin of the 
"^Dcople of God.2 j^- jg ^igQ opposed to the washings of the 
Mosaic ritual,^ and to circumcision.'* Conformably to the 
injunction of our blessed Lord, it was performed in the name 
of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit ; and the candidate was 
fitted for receiving it by prayer and fasting. After baptism, 
he was received into the congregation, and joined in prayer,^ 
and was admitted to a participation in the Eucharist, all present 
having first saluted each other with the kiss of peace. 



^ So in Dial. p. 367 D, ya.f XpiffroSf -irpuroToxof •xu.ffni xrlffius uv, xct) 
ip^h ^dXtv aXXov yivovs yiyoviv, rou dvccyivv/i^ivros v'T avrou ^/ v'haras, xou 
Tritrrieos, xa.) %vXov tov to fji,varnptov rou trrccvpou i^ovro;. In p. 32 1 C, to 
y.v(TTriptov w«X/v Tr,; (r^f -^uXiv) ytv'tffius hy-uv refers to the final restoration 
of the Jews. The following passage has been urged as affording pre- 
sumptive proof that infant baptism was practised in Justin's time : xa.) 
Tokkot Tivis xcc) ^okkci)^ i^r,xovTovTat xa) Ifi^ofc/ixovTovrai, 01 \x '^cci^av ifia^nTiv- 
C'/jtrav TM XpiffTM, a.(pCopoi 'hiocfxivovcri. Apol. i. p. 62 A (20). 

^ P. 231 C. 1i vhaTOi ayvicrai, p, 314 A. 

3 Pp. 229 D, 231 C, 235 E, 236 B, 263 C, 369 C. rig txuvav tov (iarrif- 
UKTos XP^'""' ^y^V "^^i^f^^Ti P>i[ia'yrTi(rfjt,tvu)j p. 246 C. 

* P. 261 D. 

■' From a passage in the Dialogjie, p. 318 A, it appears that, in 
Justin's opinion, jirayer was most acceptable to God when offered by the 



Writings of Jttslin Martyr. 69 

With respect to the Eucharist, we find that in Justin's time 
water was mixed with the wine ; 1 that the president, having 
taken the bread and the wine mixed with water into his hands, 
offered up praises and thanksgivings to God ; that the deacons 
then delivered the bread and wine to all present, and carried 
away a portion to those who were absent. 

When we compare this account with the notices on the 
subject of the Eucharist in the Acts of the Apostles and the 
Epistles, we find that considerable alterations had taken place 
in the mode of celebration; occasioned probably by the 
necessity of correcting abuses and obviating inconveniences. 
The first converts appear daily, after their principal meal, to 
have taken bread and drunk wine in commemoration of the 
death of their Saviour ; and it is probable that tables were 
prepared in the houses of the rich, at which the poorer brethren 
were received, and partook of the Eucharist. 2 At a later 
period, the practice at Corinth was that the brethren assembled 
together in some one appointed place for the purpose of eating 
the Lord's Supper, still connecting it with their meal.^ Pro- 
bably the abuses which prevailed there, and were condemned 
by St. Paul, or others of a similar nature, rendered it eventually 
expedient to make the celebration of the Eucharist entirely 
distinct from the meal ; which appears, from the passage just 
cited, to have been the case in Justin's time. 

As in those days nothing but unavoidable necessity could 
have prevented a Christian from attending the stated meetings, 

supplicant in a kneeling posture, and with his face bowed forwards to 
the earth. 

^ So Irenagus, 1. iv. c. 57, ** temperamentum calicis." 

^ Acts ii. 46, K'kuvrU ri Kur oTkov ctprov, " breaking bread from house to 
house," where xar oJxov, "from house to house," is evidently opposed to 
Iv ru hpu, '^in the temple." 

^ I Cor. xi. 20. 



70 Some Account of the 

the custom of sending a portion of the consecrated elements 
to the absent probably originated in the charitable desire to 
testify to them that, though absent, they were present to the 
thoughts and affections of their brethren; and to prevent 
them from losing their share in the benefits arising from the 
commemoration of the death of Christ. One inference we 
may draw from the custom — that the thanksgiving pronounced 
by the president was deemed necessary to give the bread and 
wine, so to speak, their sacramental character — to make them, 
as Justin expresses himself, no longer common bread and wine. 
In Justin's description we find the deacons employed, as from 
the account of the institution of the office in Acts vi. we 
might expect them to be employed, in distributing the bread 
and wine to the communicants.^ 

On the ground that the bread and wine in the Eucharist 
are not common bread and wine, Justin says that none were 
allowed to receive them but baptized believers, who lived 
conformably to the precepts of Christ. His reason for saying 
that they are not common bread and wine is assigned in the 
passage quoted in p. 6^, note 3; from which Le Nourry^ 
infers that Justin maintained the doctrine of Transubstantia- 
tion. It might, in my opinion, be more plausibly urged in 
favour of Consubstantiation, — since Justin calls the consecrated 
elements bread and wine, though not common bread and wine. 



^ In the- Dialogue, p. 259 E, Justin says that the offering of fine flour 
made for those who were cleansed from the leprosy (Lev. xiv. 10) was the 
type of the bread in the Eucharist, which Jesus Christ our Lord ordered to 
be offered in remembrance of the suffering which He underwent for those 
who are cleansed as to their souls from all wickedness ; in order that we 
may give thanks to God for having created the world and all things in it 
for the sake of man, and for having delivered us from the wickedness in 
which we lived, and for having finally dissolved powers and principalities 
through Christ, Who suffered according to His will. 

'^ Apparatus ad Bibliothecajn maxiniam Veta-um Pairuiii, p. 408. 



PVritings of Justin Martyr. *]\ 

But in the Dialogue ivith Trypho^ we find Justin stating that 
the bread in the Eucharist was commemorative of the body, 
and the cup of the blood of Christ; and in a subsequent 
passage - he appUes to them the expression dry and hquid 
food. We may therefore conclude that., when he calls them 
the body and blood of Christ, he speaks figuratively. He 
applies the word ^vo-ta to the Eucharist, or rather to the 
thanksgivings and prayers which were offered up during the 
celebration of the rite ;^ for he allows of none but spiritual 
sacrifices under the Christian dispensation. The account 
given by Justin of the intimate union which subsisted among 
the brethren, and of the readiness with which the rich contri- 
buted to the relief of the wants of the poor, proves that the 
spirit of love which distinguished the first converts still ani- 
mated the members of the Christian community. They still 

^ OTi fxXv oZv xai iv TOivrn rri TpocprrrUK (Isa. XXxiii. I3 e^ seq.) -TTifi toZ liprov 
ov -rxps^MXiv hf/.7v ■hfJLir'c.p'-.i Xptirrcs '^oiiTv lU a.v!l:{/.vn(rtv rov ri (rcaiMx.Toxotn(ra,(rSoci 
(f. (n(Ta)ix,a.ro<jror/i(T6ui) avTov 'hik rov; TitrrivovTa,? 11? uvtov, V ov; xa.) Txhros 
y'iyovi, Kou -Ttp) rov 'z-ornplov us xvoifivi^iTiv tou a."y.a.TO? eivrov 'Tccp'i'ciMKiv ivx^P"^- 
roZvTo^i Tcn7v, (pccivtrcr.,, p. 296 E. See also p. 260 A. " Justinus in Dialogo 
cum Tryphone dixit clprov -ronlv, panem facere vel conficere, hoc est, Christi 
exemplo ihXoyu^ kx) ivx^.p,<Tri7v, benedictione et gratiarum actione con- 
secrare in Sacramentum Corporis Christi. Alkidit Justinus voce ^o,£v ad 
vocem Christi apud Paulum, i Cor. xi. 24. ^cZto ^cun ih rm l^-h 
avoi/^v»i(riv." Casanhon, ad Baronti Anna/es, xvi. 33. 

" ravrcc ykp f^iva xu) XpnTTixvo) TO!,piXafiov -yronh, kcc) W a,vuf^vr,ffu Ti t>jj 
'rpo(pm avT^v I'/ipZ; ti >coi) vypa;, h f xu) toZ ^d^ov? ^I'Tovh ^t avrod @ih 
To~v etoZ f^ifA^nrx,, p. 345 A. Tlie passage is evidently corrupt. Thirlby 
proposes to read, -^Iro.h h" ocvtov? vlo\ rod @io~v f^if^vnTx,. The 
language, however, is such as would scarcely have been used by a believer 
in the corporal presence. ^ 1 i s ^ v 

3 P. 260 C. Compare p. 344 D. ^«''^«' ""' '' ^'"^"''^ '"'' J^l^ '^ JZ 
cvif^ccro; rovrov Sv^la; Si; -^ccp'^^-^KZ, 'U<roZi Xpi^ri? y',yn<rgcc,, rovr'scTT.v^ Wi p 
ti'XxpiJTia, ToZ uprotj kc^.) roZ ^orrtplov, -raj Iv ^avT/ TO'pr^^ rm yn? y,yvof^ivocs vro 
..i'v X;j,^««v«v -TTpoXufh^JV &io? f^o^prvpu thocp's^rovs I'^ip^i'^ ^^'^V, With p. 
345 A, o'r/ f.h oZy xoa VJZO^) xa) tl^c^.p^arU,, v^i t<Sv Ǥ/^v y/yvo^eva/, TtKuc^, 
/o,a, xa,) ildpKTTo', s/V/ rJ 6=^ Sv^>u,, koc) o^vt'o; (P'^f^>. See also p. 34^ B, and 
Apol. i. p. 58 A (12), 60 C (16). 



72 Some Account of the 

distinguished each other by the endearing appellation of 
brother. 

We learn, moreover, from the passage above cited, that on 
the first day of the week, or, as Justin styles it, the day of the 
sun,i the brethren met together for the purposes of religious 
worship ; and he assigns as the reason for the selection of that 
particular day, that on it God began the work of creation, and 
Christ rose from the dead. So long as the converts to the 
gospel were principally of Jewish origin, it is reasonable to 
suppose that, as they attended the service of the temple, and 
frequented the Jewish synagogues, so they kept the Jewish 
Sabbath, — holding, however, meetings for religious worship on 
the first day of the week, in commemoration of Christ's resur- 
rection from the dead. The admission of the Gentiles into 

' The reader will observe that Justm calls the first day of the week « tov 
rXiov iifispec, "the day of the sun," and the last « xpoviKn, "the day of 
Saturn." Dion Cassius, in Fompeio, c. 6, says that the Romans derived 
the practice of assigning the names of the planets to different days from the 
Egyptians, and that it had become in a certain degree national among 
them, X.IX,) riOYj nu) Tovro ff(p!(ri <?rd,Tpiov rpo-rov rivd iittiv. Whether the 
Egyptians, having received the computation of time by weeks from the 
Jews, applied the names of the seven heavenly bodies then known to be 
immediately connected with our system to the days of the week, or whether 
their observation of the heavenly bodies first led them to compute time by 
periods of seven days, may be doubtful ; but it appears certain that the 
computation was made subservient to the purposes of astrology. Dion 
has recorded two explanations of the manner in which the names of the 
heavenly bodies came to be assigned to the different days. The early 
Christians, if of Jewish extraction, retained, if of Gentile, adopted the 
scriptural computation by weeks ; and finding the astronomical or astro- 
logical names of the days of the week generally received throughout the 
Roman Empire, in their Apologies addressed to the heathen, naturally 
used those names. Seklen, in the 13th and following chapters of the third 
book of his work, Dc Jure naturali, etc., which we recommend to the 
careful perusal of those who, whatever be the side they espouse, shall here- 
after engage in the controversy respecting the institution of the Sabbath, 
has collected all that can be found on this not uninteresting subject. 



Writings of JtLstin Martyr. "jt, 

the Church was quickly followed by the controversy respectin'^ 
the necessity of observing the Mosaic ritual,— a controversy 
carried on, as we collect from the writings of the New Testa- 
ment, with great bitterness; one consequence of which was 
that the converts, whether Jew or Gentile, who believed that 
the injunctions of the ceremonial law were no longer obliga- 
tory, soon ceased to observe the Sabbath ; some even went the 
length, as Justin informs us,i of attaching criminaKty to the 
observance, as bespeaking a species of return from Christianity 
to Judaism. Bearing, however, in mind that one reason 
assigned by Moses for the sanctification of the Sabbath was 
that on the seventh day God rested from the work of creation, 
they added to the original reason for observing the first day 
of the week — the commemoration of Christ's resurrection — 
another, that on that day God commenced the work of creation.^ 
Thus far, and thus far only, can it in my opinion be truly said 
that the Lord's day was substituted in place of the Jewish 
Sabbath : at first it was observed in conjunction with the 
Sabbath, and with a reference only to the resurrection. 

In Justin's account of the Christian assemblies we find 
mention of a president, deacons, and a reader. That the 
deacons were regarded as fulfilling the same duties as the 
ministers whose appointment is recorded in Acts vi. cannot, I 

^ The word (rajSjSar/^s/i/, " to keep the Sabbath," is always used by Justin 
with a particular reference to the Jewish law, pp. 229 C, 236 E, 237 A, 
238 A. 

2 In the Dialogue, p. 241 E, Justin says that a greater mystery was 
annexed by God to the eighth day than to the seventh. This mystery he 
afterwards states to be the command to circumcise on the eighth day, 
which was a type of the true circumcision from error and wickedness, 
received by Christians through Jesus Christ, Who rose from the dead on the 
first day of the week, which, when the weekly circle is complete, corre- 
sponds to the eighth day, p. 260 C. The number of persons saved in the 
ark was also a symbol of the day on which Christ arose from the dead, 
being the eighth in number, but the first in power, p. Ti^'J D. 



74 Some Accoimt of tJie 

think, be doubted. But should any person infer that because 
bishops and presbyters are not expressly named by Justin, no 
minister with those titles then existed in the Church, his 
inference would not be warranted by the premises. Justin, it 
should be remembered, was addressing heathens, who could 
not be supposed to take any interest in the titles borne by the 
ministers of the new religion; nor did it form any part of 
Justin's plan to enter into minute details respecting the govern- 
ment or discipline of the Church. Tertullian, who in his other 
works frequently mentions bishops, priests, and deacons, in his 
Apology^ addressed to the governors of Proconsular Africa, 
uses language even more general than that of Justin. In one 
respect the president appears to have been regarded as occupy- 
ing the place of an apostle ; for as the early converts, who sold 
their lands and possessions, laid the price at the feet of the 
apostles,^ so, according to Justin, whatever was collected for 
the use of the poor at the meetings on the Lord's day was 
deposited in the hands of the president. 



CHAPTER V. 

THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL — THE RESURRECTION OF THE 
BODY — THE MILLENNIUM — FUTURE JUDGMENT^ ANGELS 
— DEMONS. 

In the introduction to the Dialogue zvith Trypho^ the old man 
by whose discourse Justin was converted to Christianity enters 
into a discussion respecting the soul. Having stated that the 
heathen philosophers could not tell what the soul is, he pro- 
ceeds to affirm that the soul is not immortal ; " for if immortal, 
1 Acts iv. 35. ^ P. 222 E. 



Writings of Justin Martyr. 75 

it must also be necessarily-existent, as some of the followers of 
Plato asserted, and as others erroneously asserted the world to 
be. Yet, though not immortal, all souls do not die, for that 
would be a benefit to the bad ; but the souls of the good exist 
in a happier, and those of the bad in a worse state, awaiting 
the day of judgment, when those which appear worthy of God 
will be exempt from death, and the rest be punished so long 
as God wills them to exist and to be punished. God alone is 
necessarily-existent and incorruptible, and on that very account 
is God ; all other things, including the soul, are created and 
corruptible." He afterwards arrives at the same conclusion by 
a different train of reasoning.^ " The soul," he says, " is 
either life, or has life- If it is life, it must cause something 
else, not itself, to live ; as motion moves something else, not 
itself. No one can deny that the soul lives. If, then, it lives, 
it lives not as being life, but as partaking of life ; and that 
which partakes is different from that of which it partakes. 
The soul partakes of life because God wills it to live ; and in 
like manner it will cease to partake of life when God wills it 
not to live. For its existence does not flow from itself, as the 
existence of God from Himself. As man does not always 
exist, nor is the body always united to the soul, but, when this 
union is to be dissolved, the soul quits the body, and the man 
no longer exists ; so when the soul is no longer to exist, the 
vital spirit departs from it, and it exists no longer, but returns 
thither whence it was taken." 

Whether Justin wished to be considered as implicitly adopt- 
ing thes*" opinions of his instructor appears to me doubtful ; ^ 
but even if he did, it is evident that he meant not to deny 

1 P. 224 B. 

'^ In the Dialogue, p. 241 B, he refers to an argument which he had 
received from his instructor, sv t«,^ Ifnivou nfcov^a. rod uvojio;, ' which 1 heard 
from that man," against the perpetual obUgation of the ceremonial law. 
See p. 2, note 5. 



76 Soiue Account of the 

the immortality of the soul, but only to say that it was not 
immortal in its own nature, — that its immortality was the gift 
of God. In a subsequent part of the Dialogue^ he quotes the 
fact, that the Witch of Endor called up Samuel's soul, to prove 
the existence of the soul after its separation from the body. 
In the First Apology'^" he says that the souls of the wicked are 
in a state of sensation after death, and, imitating Christ's 
example, refers to the passages in which God calls Himself 
the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to prove that those 
patriarchs, though dead, were still in being.^ His notion 
seems to have been, that God conferred upon our first parents 
the gifts of incorruptibility and immortality, which they lost by 
their transgression ; but which may now be regained by us if 
we believe, and lead virtuous and holy lives.^ 

We have seen that Justin's venerable instructor speaks of 
the punishment of the wicked as enduring so long as God 
wills. Justin always speaks of it as eternal.^ There is no 
absolute contradiction between the two statements, which may 

' P. ZIZ A. 

P. 66 D (29). Tu Vi KoXci^iff^xif h oclffSriffii ko.) [Mto, 6a,varov ovffo,;, to,; 
Tuv aViKuv i^v;\^Ms. See also p. 65 A (26). on xa) fAira, 6a.ta.ro') Iv aUinffu 
st<r)v eci \pv^oit, 

^ P. 96 E (81). Compare Matt. xxii. 32. 
aXXcc -prpo; ro a.'Z'oou^at vy.7v oti to <7fDiV[ji.a. to ciyiov ovj/5/^s/ rovs dv^pu^rovs, 
Tous xai QiM o/xoiu; K-rah7; xa.) aJavdrou;, lav (pvXa'^uxri ra, TftoffTayy.aTa aurov, 
yiyiv'/iy.ivov; xa) xaryi^iaiy-ivovs v<7e al/rov vlohs alrov xaXiHa^ai, xou ovrot o/xoius 
TM ^Aoafi, xa] ry Eila. i^o/icoioij/u,iyoi 6dvarov lavroTs Ipyd^ovrai. Dial, p, 353 E, 
referred to in p. 58, note 3. See p. 265 D. o'l Idv dl'tov; tZ Ixilvov (sovX'.u/xan 

lavTov; 61 ipyuv di'i^utn, Tni (jlit ahrov avaffTpo(p7iS xara^tM^rivai 9rpoirnXr,<pa/xiv 
ffVfj.fiaffiXivovra?^ a(p^a,provs fta) d-raSus yivo/nivovg. Apol. i. p. 58 B (13). xa\ 
rod "TaXiv Iv aipdapffio. yiuff^ai '^la '^iffriv rhv Iv alru air'^ffn; Ti/wprovris, 

p. 60 D (17). 

* uiuviav xoXatrtv xoXa(r(l'/iffof.t,ivuv, dxx'' ol^) ^tXiovrairyi Tnpio^ov, Apol. i. 
p. 57 B (10). See also pp. 59 B (12), 65 A (26), 67 D (30), %i B (56). 
Apol. ii. pp. 41 C, E, 45 E, 46 D, 47 D, Dial. p. 344 B. So also aiuviov 

:tard(r^'cO-iv, pp. 34O D, 349 B. uTr/.va-rw: xoXd^ia-i'ai, p, 264 B. 



Writings of J its tin Martyr. "jj 

be reconciled by saying that God wills the punishment to 
be eternal. But the former mode of expression implies the 
possibility that the torments of the wicked may have an end, 
which the positive language of Justin seems to exclude. Pre- 
viously to the final judgment, the soul will be reunited to the 
body, which, in the case of the good, will not only be rendered 
immortal and incapable of suffering, but even if, during this 
life, it laboured under any deformity or defect, it will then be 
raised in a state of complete integrity.^ The bodies of the bad 
will also be rendered immortal, in order to endure the eternity 
of suffering to which they are destined. The place of future 
punishment he calls by the name of Gehenna.^ 

In the Dialogue with Tryphoj^ Justin speaks of the appear- 
ance of the man of sin as immediately connected with the 
second coming of Christ in glory. His appearance was to 
be the prelude to severe persecutions against the Christians. 
Bishop Pearson* supposes Justin to have believed that this 

1 Apol. i. p. 57 B (lo). The passage is corrupt, but the meaning clear. 
P. 65 G (26). Tnv "hi ^ivrifxy (I'ccpovfflav) orav fUTO, ^o^ns s? ovpavuv f/,ira tjjj 
a,yyi\ix,ni uvrov ffrpctTieis Trexpeayivyiffiffecii KiKfipuKTSity on xat ra, ffMfiara, ocviyipn 
'TTa.vruv Tuv yivof^ivuv avSpuTeav^ xa,) ruv fAv a^iuv ivovtrn K(p$cipfflcx.v, ruv 
aVixuv Ev al(r6'/i(TU alavia, /u,iT«, tuv ^ccvXav oxtfiovctiv lU to kimviov crup •TTifi'^^ii, 
p. 87 B (63). on xeiv rig Iv Kujir) rm ffcof^aros vcrdp^uv (^vXac.'^ txv -^xpoiOido- 
fjLivuv I'TT avTou ^i^ayfidruv vTrap^vi, okoxktjpov aurov Iv r? dsvrspa kItou 'Tfapovtria., 
fjura, rod xa) d^dveirov xai cif^aprov xa,) aXv'^rnrov -Troinffai^ uvaffryiffu. Dial. 

pp. 296 A, 359 D. 

^ ^ Be yiivvd iffri ro-rog svSa xoXd^KT^xi fAiXXovo'iy ot eiVixus (iieatravTiS. Apol. 
i. p. 66 B (28). 

^ v\^i ^ivripa {^apoviria) iv « ft,ird Vo^n? ccTo tuv ovpavZv <rapia'Tat, orav xai 
rTis aToffraffias a,v6pu<ffos, xa) si; tov vyptfTov e^akXa XaXuv, i-ri ms yn; 
oivo[ji.a ToXy-'/iO"/! us hf^as rov? Xptirriavou;, p. ^^6 E. 

* The passage to which Pearson refers is as follows : — o^np yiynrai l^orov 
£/j <rov ovpavov aviXyi(pd'/j y.ira to tx vixpuv avaffrnvai niAiripo; Kvpio; I'/jtrov; 
Xpiffros, i-uv ^poveav trvy.'ffXyipovfJi.ivuv xa) rov (iXafftpvifia xai roXu.npa u? tov 
v-^KTrov (jt,iXXovroe XaXiiv n^n W) Svpai? ovto? (av), xatpov xa) xaipou; xat ni^KTu 
xxipou "^laxa^i^siv Aavr/iX fi^vvii. xa) v/u,u? ayvoovvTs; -rotrov ^povov dtaxaTt^uv 
f4.iXXu, aXXo viyuif^i' tov yap xatpov Ixarov 'i-T'/i i^'/iyilffSi XiyKT^ai, it Oi tovto 



78 - Some Account of the 

event was near at hand ; this, however, does not strike me as 
a necessary conclusion from the words. 

We have seen that, among other questions put by Trypho 
to Justin, he asks whether tlie Christians really believed that 
Jerusalem would be rebuilt,^ and that they, as well as the 
patriarchs, prophets, and Jews, and proselytes who lived 
before the coming of Christ, would be collected there. Justin 
replies that, although many pure (in doctrine) and pious 
Christians were of a different opinion, yet he himself, and as 
many Christians as were in every respect orthodox, opOoyv^- 
fxoves Kara iravTa, were assured that they who believe in Christ 
should rise in the flesh,'- and for the space of a thousand years 

ifriv, n; ro iXa^itrrov tov rris xvcfytix; civ^pwprov rpiaxoffia TivrriKovTOi 'irr, fiecffiX- 
ivffoc,! oi7y nee. to iipn/nivov v-xo rov uy'iov Auviti^, xki xccipav (f. xoci xxipohg), ^60 
fiovov; KKipob; "kiyiaSai a,pt$fji,yiffuf/.i'j, p. 250 A. Here we have a plain allusion 
to Dan. vii. 25 (xi. 36, etc.) ; 2 Thess. ii. 4 cf seq. The last passage 
seems to have suggested the word ^/ax«T£;^£;v to Justin ; but he employs it 
ns relating to the time during which the man of sin was to have dominion, 
not to that during which he was to be restrained from appearing. See the 
use of the word xa.rix,uv.- Apol. i. 82 D (55). 

^ C. I, p. 28, Dial. p. 306 B, et seq. Compare pp. 368 A, 369 A. 

^ To this resurrection Justin applies the words TaXtyyivja-ia, iv 0I5 za) to 

uvfTnptov 9rdXiv TJjj yiviffiug (t>?j ?raX/v yivitria;) rif^tuv, xai octX&Is -zoivTuv tmv 
TOV XptiTTov U 'lipovaocXnfJt' (^a-rAffiaSm 'TtpodhoxmTuv. " Regeneration, in which 
also is the mystery of our regeneration and the appearance in flesh of all 
ihose who believe in Christ in Jerusalem." P. 312 C. Middleton has most 
unfairly charged Justin with maintaining that the saints will pass the 
millennium in the enjoyment of sensual pleasures. Nothing of this kind 
is to be found in Justin's description ; and in p. 346 B, he cautions Trypho 
against supposing that the Mosaic sacrifices will then be revived, or any 
but spiritual sacrifices offered : oZ {tou Xpiffrov) Iv tJ? -rdXiv •vupovtrlct f/,h ^o^'/iti 
Xiyuv 'H<r«i'«v n Tovi aXXovs Tpo(p^Tocs 6vcrioci cc,<p ou[/.d,Tuv n ff'TTovduv i-ttI to 
6v(riot,ffTripiov K,va(pipiiT^xi, ccXXu uX'/iCtvov; xx) ^rviVfiKTtxov; a,"vov; xu) iv^ocp- 
uTTtas. " Do not think that Isaiah and the other prophets say that at His 
(Christ's) second coming offerings of blood and libations will be offered 
upon the altar, but true and spiritual praises and giving of thanks." It has 
been observed, c. I, p. 24, that Elias is to appear before Christ's second 
Advent. 



Writings of Jn still Marty7\ 79 

inhabit Jerusalem, rebuilt and beautified and enlarged. In 
confirmation of this opinion, he quotes Isa. Ixv. 17, and the 
book of Revelation, which he expressly ascribes to the Apostle 
St. John, At the expiration of the period of one thousand 
years, the general resurrection was to take place ; ^ and after 
the general resurrection and judgment, this whole frame of 
things was to be consumed by fire.^ 

I will take the present opportunity of laying before the 
reader the different notices scattered OA^-er Justin's works 
respecting angels and demons. In opposition to those who 
thought that angels were only emanations, sent forth for a 
particular purpose, and then resolved again into that from 
which they issued, Justin ascribes to them a positive and per- 
manent existence.^ To certain of them God committed the 
charge of watching over men and over this nether world ; ^ but, 
as they possessed freedom of will,^ and were capable of evil as 
well as good, they allowed themselves to be seduced into 
transgression by the beauty of women ; from their intercourse 
-with whom sprang demons. These apostate angels enslaved 
the human race by magical arts,*^ by terrifying or by injuring 
them, by instructing them in sacrificial rites, and inducing 

1 P. 308 B. 

" Apol. i. p. 66 B (28), where Justin appeals to the authority of the 
Sibyl and Hystaspes. Apol. ii. p. 45 C 

3 Dial. p. 358 C. Compare pp. 311 I> and 312 B, where Justin proves 
from Ps. cxlviii. i, 2, that angels are heavenly powers. They required 
food, but not such food as men require. Their food was manna, according 
to Ps. Ixxviii. 24. Dial. p. 279 D. 

^ Apol. ii. p. 44 A, referred to in c. i. p. 4, note 2. Trypho appears to 
have been scandalized at the notion that an angel could fall. Dial. pp. 
305 C, 306 A. 

^ Dial pp. 316 A, 370 A. In the former passage he seems to limit 
the freedom of men and angels by saying that they were free to do that 
which God had empowered each to do, T/;«r-=/v 'Uk 'Uaarov hi^vvuuMiTs 

« See Apol. i. p. 61 A (18). 



8o Some Account of the 

them to offer incense and libations, which became necessary to 
themselves after they were subjected to passions and lusts.^ 
Having enslaved mankind, they sowed among them murders, 
wars, adulteries, wantonness, and all kinds of wickedness. 
The poets and mythologists, ignorant that these evils were the 
work of the angels and of the demons, their offspring, 
ascribed them to the deities, whose names the angels appro- 
priated to themselves at pleasure. ^ In order more securely to 
establish their dominion, the demons employed every art to 
seduce men from the worship of the true God, adapting their 
temptations to the character of the individual :^ if he was of a 
low and grovelling temper, addressing themselves to his senses, 
and, as it were, nailing him to idols and earthly objects ; if he 
was of a more contemplative cast, perplexing him with subtle 
inquiries, and urging him into impiety. With this view, also, 
after Christ's ascent into heaven, they instigated different men,^ 

•^ 01 }ca.) Txpcc Tuv uXoyui (iiovvruv alrovo'i ^uf^etra xx) hpct-Viixs. " Who get 
their sacrifices and worship by exacting upon the follies of wicked men." 
AJ>ol. i. p. 59 D (15). 

It should be observed that Justin makes a clear distinction between the 
worship of idols and that of the heavenly bodies. We have seen his 
notions respecting the origin of the former (c. i. p. 4) ; but he believed, 
and according to hun Trypho also believed, that God actually permitted 
the heathen to worship the sun and moon as God. This notion was 
founded on a misinterpretation of the Septuagint version of Deut. iv. 19. 
£>ia/. pp. 274 B, 349 E. 

'^ In the Fi'rs^ Apology, p. 55 E (7), Justin gives a similar account, and 
says that men, being ignorant of the existence of wicked demons, called 
them gods, assigning to each the name which he had appropriated to 
himself. Compare p. 57 D (11), where he says that the images, the 
objects of worship in the heathen temples, bare the names and the forms 
of wicked demons. See also p. 67 D (30). In proof of this opinion he 
frequently appeals to Ps. xcvi. 5. o\ hoi rav ihav 'Butfx.oviBi s/V/v, " the 
gods of the heathen are demons," as in Dial. p. 306 B. 

■* Apol. i. p. 92 B (70). The devil enabled Pharaoh's magicians to 
work wonders. Dial. pp. 294 E, 306 B. He also inspired the false 
prophets, p. 325 A. 

* Apol. i. p. 69 C (34). 



Wri lings of J its tin Martyr. 8i 

among them Simon the Samaritan, to give themselves out for 
gods ; as previously to Christ's appearance on earth they had 
suggested various fables to the poets, founded on what the 
holy prophets had foretold respecting the coming of Christ 
and the future punishment of the wicked, to the end that men, 
having their minds preoccupied with those fables, might regard 
the narrative of Christ's life and actions with less reverence.^ 
In like manner, they caused various rites to be introduced 
into the heathen mysteries, bearing a resemblance to those 
which were to be instituted under the Christian dispensation. 
Thus from Isa. i. i6, which Justin refers to baptism, the 
worshippers in the heathen temples were instructed to sprinkle 
themselves before they made their offerings ;2 and from what 
the demons had learned respecting the future institution of 
the Eucharist, bread and a cup of water were placed before 
the candidates for initiation into the mysteries of Mithras, as a 
part of the ceremony.^ This imitation of the prophetic writings 
extended even to the precepts of righteousness inculcated in 
the Sacred Volume.* 



' Apol. i. p. 89 A (66), where Justin alleges several instances of imita- 
tion, some of them sufficiently extravagant. Compare pp. 68 C (31), 90 
A (67), 97 A {82). Dial. pp. 297 B, 295 A, 294 E. The demons did 
not know that the Messiah was to be crucified, and did not in consequence 
invent any fables with reference to the crucifixion, p. 90 B (68). 

2 Apol. i. p. 94 E (77). 

3 Apol. i. p. 98 C (90), referred to in c. iv. p. 66. In the Dialogue, 
p. 304 B, Justin says that the practice of initiating the votaries of Mithras 
in a place called a cave was derived from Isa. xxxiii. 16. oZto? olmtrn iv 
v-4^'/iXm tTTijXeciM 9rirpoi; Iff^vfa,?, "his place of defence shall be the munitions 
of rocks;" from which passage he infers that Jesus was born in a cave near 
Bethlehem. See Casaubon, Exercit. ad Baronii Annales, ii. i. See also 
p. 296 B. 

^ aw KOLi Toiii X'oyovs To.vTOt.; [ji,t[jt.n(ra,iT$oct iTiX'-'P''^''''^^' ^<««'«*pl''«? y^P Xoyou; 

tea.) 'ffetp Ixuvois XiyiffScu \rixvu.ira.vTo. " Of which they attempted to imitate 
all the prophetic writings, and they also managed by art that precepts 
of righteousness should be spoken among them. " P. 296 C. 



82 Some Account of the 

Actuated by a spirit of unremitting hostility against God and 
against goodness, the demons instigated all the persecutions 
to which not only the Christians, but the virtuous among the 
heathen were exposed.^ They also excited the Jews to put 
Christ to death. 2 They were the authors of the calumnious 
accusations brought against the Christians. ^ To their sugges- 
tions were to be traced the different heresies which had arisen 
in the Church;* the unjust and wicked laws which had been 
enacted in different states ; ^ in short, they were the authors of 
all evil existing in the world. Among tliese evil angels the 
serpent who deceived Eve, called also in Scripture Satan, and 
the devil, was pre-eminent ; ^ who, together with the other 
apostate angels and with wicked men, will be consigned to 
eternal flames at the consummation of all things.''' 

With respect to demoniacal possessions, Justin says that 
the Christians,^ by adjuring demons in the name of Christ, 

^ This opinion is repeatedly stated by Justin. See Apol. i. pp. 55 D 
(6), 59 D (15), 82 B (53). Apol. ii. pp. 41 D, 45 D, 46 C, 50 B. Dial. 
p. 258 D, where it is said that the persecutions of the Christians will 
continue till Christ's second coming, p. 360 D. 

- Apol. i. p. 96 A (80). 

■' Apol. i. pp. 58 D (13), 68 D (31). Apol. ii. p. 51 B. 

-> Apol. i. pp. 69 D (33), 91 A (69), 92 A (70). 

5 Apol. ii. p. 48 A. 

** -xu-o VifM'i y,\v yap ecppf^riyiTr,; tuv KXPiuy 6aiy,ovuv 01^1; KOcXiirui, koh 

a-uravas, xec} ^lafiokos. " But the ringleader and prince of evil spirits is by us 
called the serpent, and Satan, and false accuser." Apol. i. p. 71 A (37). 
Compare Bial. pp. 264 A, 304 D, 327 D, 331 B, 353 E, 354 E. 

^ Apol. i. pp. 71 B (37), 82 D (56), 87 B (63). Apol. ii. p. 46 D. 
Dial. p. 361 C. This notion of Justin, that the punishment of the apostate 
angels will not take place until the end of the world, has by some been 
stigmatized as heretical. See Le Nourry, p. 416. Perhaps Justin meant 
that all their, power of doing mischief, and consequently their only source 
of gratification, would then be taken away, and they would exist for ever 
in a state of unmitigated mi'-'ery. 

s Apol. ii. pp. 45 A, 46 D. Dial. pp. 247 C, 302 A, 311 B. In the 
last passage, Justin says that a demon would possibly obey, if adjured by a 



Writings of J^istin Martyr. 83 

were enabled to work cures which the Jewish and heathen 
exorcists had in vain attempted. He here speaks as if the 
suffering party was really possessed by a demon ; but on 
another occasion he classes possessed and insane persons 
together, and says that the souls of dead men had entered 
into thera.i There, however, is no real contradiction ; for he 
supposed that wicked angels hovered about the beds of dying 
men, 2 on the watch to seize the parting soul \ which being now 
brought within their power, was compelled to obey their 
bidding. The souls of the prophets and holy men of old had 
thus fallen under the dominion of demons ; as was evident 
from the power, exerted by the Witch of Endor, of calling up 
the soul of Samuel ; and the demons could, by a similar 
exercise of power, cause them to possess the bodies of men. 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE CONDITION OF THE CHRISTIANS IN THE TIME OF 
JUSTIN, AND THE CAUSES OF THE RAPID DIFFUSION OF 
CHRISTIANITY. 

In the Dialogue ivith Trypho, we find Justin using the follow- 
ing language:" "There is no race of men, whether of 

Jew in the name of the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob. He 
speaks of the demons as trembling at the name of Christ. U xrA ^a, ^«/^»v/« 
(pp/<r(r£i. Pp. 269 D, 350 B, 361 C. 

no-K^'xrovi y.a) i,,.^.of.k.ov, Kc^XoZ^i cr^vrsj. " And those persons who are 
violently caught up and dashed down again by departed spirits, and who 
pass among you all for demoniacs and mad." Apol. i. p. 65 A (26).^ 

2 Dial. p. 332 E. Justin speaks as if a petition to be delivered m the 
hour of death from the power of evil spirits formed a special topic m the 
prayers of Christians. 

^ P. 345 C. 



84 Some Account of the 

barbarians or of Greeks, or bearing any other name, either 
because they live in waggons without fixed habitations, or in 
tents, leading a pastoral life, among whom prayers and thanks- 
givings are not offered to the Father and Maker of the universe 
through the name of the crucified Jesus." As Justin is then 
endeavouring to show that the prediction of Malachi,^ which 
speaks of the universal diffusion of true religion among the 
Gentiles in the days of the Messiah, was fulfilled in the actual 
state of Christianity, we must make allowance for some 
exaggeration in the description. We may interpret his lan- 
guage more strictly, when he says that new converts were 
continually added to the Church through the admiration 
excited by the virtuous practice and enduring constancy of the 
Christians. He states,^ with regard to himself, that in embrac- 
ing Christianity, he was in no small degree influenced by 
observing that the Christians^ against whom so many calumnies 
were propagated, encountered death, and whatever else is 
deemed most dreadful, without fear. Such persons, he 
reasoned with himself, could not be leading wicked and dissi- 
pated lives. " For what lover of pleasure," he asks, " or 
intemperate man, or delighting to feed on human flesh, would 
embrace death, thereby to lose all that he deemed desirable ? 
and would not rather strive, by every means, to evade the 
pursuit of the governors, in order that he might live for ever in 
this world ? Much less would such a man denounce himself 
to the magistrate." On another occasion he says,^ " It is 
evident that no one can terrify or enslave those who have 
believed in Jesus. For when condemned to be beheaded, to 
be crucified, to be cast to wild beasts, into chains, or into 
the flames, or to be otherwise tortured, they never swerve from 
the profession of their faith. Nay, the more frequently such 
punishments are inflicted, the greater the addition to the 

1 I. II. 

- Apol. ii. p. 50 A. Compare Apol. i. p. 63 C (23). 
3 Dial. pp. 337 ]5, 350 A, 360 D. 



Writings of Justin Martyr. 85 

faithful and pious believers in the name of Jesus ; as when 
you cut off the fruit-bearing parts of the vine, it puts forth 
other flourishing and fruitful branches." 

As the main object of the First Apology is to remove the 
unfavourable impression which had been made on the minds 
of the Emperors by the calumnious accusations circulated 
against the Christians, Justin naturally appeals to the moral 
precepts delivered by Christ, and to the fact that the Christians 
lived in conformity to them. " We," he says, " follow the 
one unbegotten God, through the Son — we who formerly 
delighted in vicious excesses, but now are temperate and 
chaste — we who formerly had recourse to magical arts, but 
have now dedicated ourselves to the good and unbegotten 
God — we who formerly placed our greatest pleasure in acquir- 
ing wealth and possessions, but now bring all that we have 
into a common stock, and impart to every one in need^we 
who hated and destroyed each other, and, on account of the 
difference of manners, refused to live with men of a different 
tribe, now^ since the appearance of Christ, live on terms ot 
familiar intercourse with them, and pray for our enemies, and 
endeavour to persuade those who hate us without a cause to 
live conformably to the perfect precepts of Christ, to the end 
that they may become partakers with us of the same joyful 
hope of a reward from God the Ruler over all." ^ 

But though many might become favourably disposed to 
Christianity by contemplating the pure and blameless lives of 
its professors, and thus be induced at length to imitate the 
virtues which they admired, yet to the majority the Christians 
w^ere the objects at once of hatred and contempt.^ They were 

1 Apol. i. p. 61 B (iS). In the Dial. p. 309 A, Justin challenges his 
opponents to prove that the Christians were actuated by the love of gain, 
or glory, or pleasure. 

- Apol. i. p. 63 C (23). 



86 Some Account of the 

regarded as the vilest of men,^ and treated with the greatest 
contumely and injustice.^ The most unnatural and revolting 
crimes were laid to their charge ; they were accused of feeding 
on human flesh,^ and, after their horrible repast, of extinguish- 
ing the lights, and indulging in a promiscuous intercourse. 
They were also charged with atheism and impiety,^ because, 
as Justin states,^ they would not worship the gods of the 
Gentiles, or offer libations and sacrifices to dead men. No 
measure, which promised to accomplish their destruction, was 
rejected on account of its iniquity or atrocity ; their domestics 
were solicited to inform and to give evidence against them ; ^ 
and Justin in one place states that murders were purposely 
committed by others, in order that the Christians might be 
charged with the guilt ; '' and that their servants, their children, 
or their wives were then put to the torture, in the hope that 
some expression might drop in the moment of agony which 
might furnish matter of accusation against them. So strong 
was the current of public feeling against them, that Justin 
ventures to ask of the Emperors no more than this^ — that 
when the Christians were brought before the tribunals, they 
should not be condemned merely because they were Chris- 
tians, but should be dismissed, unless they were convicted of 



^ uvSpu-ffoti ov^ivos d^iois, " Men of no worth," is Trypho's expression, 
p. 225 E. In p. 349 B, Justin repels the charge, ol/xouv ov» ivxara(ppov>jros 
'Br.f/.o; IcTfiiv, ovdl (idpfiapov (pZXov, ovh\ o'Tfoicx, Kapajv n ^pvyuv eVvjj. " For we are 
no a despicable people, nor a barbarian race, nor a nation like the Carians 
or Phrygians." 

^ d}t»Ms f^iffovf^ivuv Koc) W'/jpicc^ofAivav, "Unjustly loaded with public 
odium and oppression." A^ol. i. p. 53 B (i). 

3 Dial. p. 227 B. 4 jp^/^ \i p^ 47 A, 

5 Apol. i. p. 68 E (32). 

'^ Dial. p. 254 A. Justin here alludes to Matt. x. 36. 

7 ApoL ii. p. 50 B. 

* ApoL i. p. 56 E (9). Yet, in the Epistle of Adrian subjoined to the 
. 4pology, that Emperor directs that they who accused the Christians falsely 
slnall l)e punished. 



Writings of Justin Martyr. "^^ 

some crime. " I do not," he adds, "go the length of caUing 
upon you to punish our accusers." 

In one of the passages above cited,i allusion is made to 
Christians who denounced themselves to the magistrates. As 
Justin expresses no disapprobation of the practice, M. Bar- 
beyrac has inferred that he approved this extravagant display 
of zeal.2 M. Barbeyrac confirms his inference by appealing 
to another passage in the same Apology,^ in which Justin 
supposes an objector to say, " If you (Christians) are so eager 
to go to God, why do you not kill yourselves, and give us no 
further trouble ? " Justin answers, " The reason why we do 
not destroy ourselves, and yet, when we are questioned, boldly 
confess that we are Christians, is this : We are taught that 
God did not make the world without an object, but for the 
sake of the human race ; and that He delights in them wlio 
imitate His attributes, and is displeased with them who embrace 
what is evil either in word or deed. If, therefore, we all 
should destroy ourselves, we should, as far as depends on us, 
be the cause that no one would be born or instructed in the 
divine doctrine, or even the cause that the whole human race 
would fail ; and thus we should act in opposition to the will 
of God. But when we are questioned, we do not deny that 
we are Christians, because we are not conscious to ourselves 
of any evil ; and because we think it impious not to speak the 
truth under every circumstance." M, Barbeyrac infers from 
this passage that Justin did not consider a Christian to be 
really the cause of his own death, when, through an ill- 
regulated desire of martyrdom, he denounced himself But 
when we inquire into the circumstances which gave rise to 
Justin's remark, we shall find that they have no connexion 
with the case supposed by M. Barbeyrac. A Christian, named 

' P. 84. 

2 Traiie de la Morale des Feres, c.2, sect. viii. 

•^ Apol. ii. p. 43 C, 



88 Some Account of tJie 

Ptolemy, was brought before Urbicus, the Prefect of Rome, 
and asked whether he was a Christian ? On his replying in 
the affirmative, Urbicus ordered him to be led away to execu- 
tion. Another Christian, named Lucius, who witnessed the 
transaction, immediately exclaimed to Urbicus, " What is the 
reason that you have ordered a man to be punished who has 
been convicted of no crime whatever, but has merely confessed 
that he is a Christian ? The judgment which you have pro- 
nounced befits neither a pious Emperor, nor the son of a 
philosophic Caesar, nor the sacred Senate." Urbicus made no 
other reply to this address than by saying to Lucius, " You 
also seem to be a Christian." Lucius admitted that he was, 
and Urbicus ordered him also to be led away to execution. 
Justin adds that he thanked the governor for the sentence, 
knowing that he should now be delivered from the tyranny of 
such wicked rulers, and should go to the Father and King of 
heaven. It is evident that, in coming forward as he did, 
Lucius was not actuated by any desire of martyrdom, but was 
impelled by a feeling of indignation at the gross injustice of 
the Prefect's conduct towards Ptolemy. It is true that, when 
condemned to death, he expressed his joy at the prospect of 
quitting this world, and being admitted to the presence of his 
heavenly Father ; but the desire of encountering death was 
not the motive which influenced him in addressing Urbicus. 
The case of a Christian who denounced himself to the magis- 
trate through the desire of martyrdom does not seem to have 
been in Justin's contemplation. He states the case of a 
voluntary suicide on the one hand ; of a Christian who, when 
questioned, denied that he was so on the other ; and he con- 
demns both. He argues that Christians would be culpable if 
they destroyed themselves. Why ? because they would act in 
opposition to the will of God, Who did not create the world 
without an object. The fair inference, therefore, would seem 
to be that Justin would have condemned a Christian who 
exposed himself to death without an object. The youth 



Writings of Justin Martyr. 89 

who made the extraordinary proposal to the governor of 
Alexandria on which M. Barbeyrac has remarked, had an 
object in view — that of convincing the governor that the 
Christians did not practise in their assemblies those gross 
immoralities which were attributed to them.^ I mean not, 
however, to say that Justin does not sometimes use language 
which implies, on the part of the early converts, an eagerness 
to court martyrdom : ^ I am far from defending such language ; 
but, as I have elsewhere stated,^ there were circumstances in 
the situation of the first Christians which ought to prevent us 
from being too severe in condemning it. 

M. Barbeyrac also says that Justin entertained very exag- 
gerated notions of the merit of celibacy. On one occasion 
Justin, in order to point out the superiority of the precepts 
of Christ to those of the heathen moralists, says that with 
respect to chastity, they forbade practices which human laws 
allowed (for instance, the practice of divorcing a wife and 
contracting another marriage), and that they controlled the 
inward desire as well as the outward act.* He then adds that 
many persons of both sexes, who had been instructed in 
Christianity from their infancy, and had, when he wrote, 
attained the age of sixty or seventy, had led an uniform Hfe 
of continence. On another occasion Justin says that the 
Christians either abstained from marriage altogether, or 
married with the sole view of having children.-^ These pas- 
sages, however, are not mentioned by M. Barbeyrac, who 



' Apol. i. p. 71 E (38). 

' Apol. i. p. 57 A (10). iT'Trivhny.iv W) ro SfioXoySv, " We are in haste to 
be confessing." 

•^ In my account of Tertullian's writings, p. 154. 

■* Apol. i. p. 62 A (20). 

' Apol. i. p. 71 D (38). In the Dialogue, p. ZZl P^. J"stin seems to 
urge, as a proof of the superiority of the Christian morals, the fact that 
each man contented himself with a single wife. 



90 Some Account of the 

refers to the third chapter of the fragment of the tract on 
the Resurrection of the Flesh, in which the author distinctly 
apphes the epithet unlawful, avo/mov, to marriage. Grabe 
endeavours to get over the difficulty by saying that the word 
avofxov should be translated indifferent ; because, as we have 
seen, Justin allowed that marriage might be contracted for 
the purpose of having children. But few, I think, wall be 
satisfied with this interpretation. If the fragment was really 
the work of Justin, we must conclude that, like other dis- 
putants, in his eagerness to answer the objections immediately 
before him, he did not stay to examine very accurately the 
soundness of his answer. 

It is unnecessary to notice what M. Barbeyrac has said 
respecting Justin's opinions on the lawfulness of an oath, 
since, according to his own admission, Justin has merely 
recited our Saviour's words. -^ 

Living so nearly as Justin did to the apostolic age, it will 
naturally be asked whether, among other causes of the diffusion 
of Christianity, he specifies the exercise of miraculous powers 
by the Christians. He says, in general terms, that such 
powers subsisted in the Church - — that Christians were en- 
dowed with the gift of prophecy ;-'^ and in an enumeration 
of spiritual gifts conferred on Christians, he mentions that of 
healing.'* We have seen, also, in a former chapter,^ that he 
ascribes to Christians the power of exorcising demons. But 

1 Apol. i. p. dTy D (23). 

^ Dial. p. 254 B. 5/a rs twv 'ipyeov, xec) ruv u-ro rod ovofJt.ix.TOi oclrov xa.i 
vvv yiyvoyAvMv Ivvot-f^iuv. "On account of the work and the acts of power 
worked now in His name." 

^ *«/)« ykf) yijU-Tv xa.) f^i^pi vZv <prpo(p*;rtxa ^oiptfff^oiroiitrriv. *' For there IS 
also now the gift of prophecy among us." Dial. p. 308 B. Sec ?lso 

•* Dial. p. 258 A. 5 Chap. v. 



Writings of Justin Martyr. 91 

he produces no particular instance of an exercise of miraculous 
power, and therefore affords us no opportunity of applying 
those tests by which the credibility of miracles must be tried. 
Had it only been generally stated by the evangelists that 
Christ performed miracles, and had no particular miracles 
been recorded, how much less satisfactory would the gospel 
narratives have appeared ! how greatly the evidence in sup- 
port of our Saviour's divine mission been diminished ! 

I know not that I can take a better opportunity than the 
present of offering a few remarks on the arguments urged by 
Justin in proving the truth of the Christian revelation. I have 
elsewhere observed ^ that nothing can be more unreasonable 
than to censure the Apologies of the early Fathers, because 
they do not contain — what they never were designed to con- 
tain — a regular exposition of the evidences of Christianity. 
They were composed with the view of removing the prejudices 
of the ojDponents of the new religion, and instructing mankind 
in its real character and design. Whatever mention occurs 
of the evidences of Christianity is merely incidental. In his 
dispute with Trypho, Justin was naturally led to insist rather 
on the argument from prophecy than on that from miracles. 
A large portion of the Dialogue is occupied in showing that 
the prophecies relating to the -Messiah in the Old Testament 
were accomplished in Jesus. ^ Another argument urged by 
Justin is derived from the fulfilment of the predictions de- 
livered by Jesus Himself;^ to foretell future events being, as 
he observes, the work of God alone.* But though he appeals 
more frequently to the fulfilment of prophecy, he occasionally 

1 In my volume On TertuUian, p. 134. 

2 See also Apol. i. pp. 88 A (64), 73 B (40), et seq. 

3 Dial. pp. 253 B, 254 A, 271 A, 308 C, 

■* s^it^h 'ipyoo (pa'iviTai yiyvofjiivee, offcx, (p6a,(rcti yivitr^oct ?r^a=/Viv, o-TTip @iov spyev 
-\(TTt, "Because we see these things fulfilled according to His prediction, 
for this or nothing is the work of God." ApoL i. p. 60 A (16). 



92 Some Account of the 

introduces the mention of Christ's miracles ; ^ yet as it might 
be said that they were performed by magical arts, he seems 
to have thought that, without the argument from prophecy, 
they would not of themselves be sufficient to establish the 
divine mission of Jesus.^ They who express surprise that the 
miracles wrought by Jesus and His disciples did not produce 
instant conviction in the minds of all who witnessed them, 
have not sufficiently attended to the state of opinion either 
among the Jews or Gentiles. The distinction between their 
incredulity and that of modern sceptics is this. They readily 
admitted the fact that an event out of the ordinary course of 
nature had occurred, but denied that it afforded conclusive 
proof of the divine mission of Him through whose agency it 
was brought to pass. The modern sceptic takes a different 
course : he stops us at the very threshold, by asserting that 
no testimony whatever can outweigh the antecedent incredi- 
bility of the event. 



-0- 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE HERESIES MENTIONED BY JUSTIN — MISCELLANEOUS 
OBSERVATIONS. 

Justin mentions Simon, ^ and says that he w^as a native of 
Samaria ; that through the assistance of the demons he per- 
formed magical miracles at Rome in the reign of Claudius 

1 Dial. p. 254 B. In the First Apology, p, 73 A (40), both miracles 
and the fulfilment of prophecy are mentioned, but the argument turns 
rather on the latter. It was foretold that Christ would work miracles ; 
Jesus worked miracles : He was therelore the Christ. 

2 Apol i. p. 72 A (38). 

3 Apol. i. p. 69 C (33). See also p. 91 B (69) ; Apol. ii. p. 52 A. 



Writings of Justin Martyr. 93 

Caesar, and was in consequence regarded as a god; that a 
statue was erected in his honour, having the following inscrip- 
tion in Latin, " Simoni Deo Sancto " ; ^ that nearly all the 
Samaritans, and a few of other nations, adored him as the 
supreme god,^ and called a female, by name Helena, who then 
travelled about with him, but had before been a prostitute, his 
first intelligence, r^v vtc avTOV evvoiav TrpwTTjv yevo/xevrjv. 

Justin mentions also Menander,^ another Samaritan, who 
was set on by the demons ; and when he resided at Antioch, 
deceived many by magical arts. He persuaded his followers 
that they should never die ; and some in Justin's time still 
maintained the same doctrine. 

A third heretic, mentioned by Justin as his contemporary, is 
Marcion of Pontus,'^ who taught that there was a god superior 
to the Creator of the universe, and another Christ besides the 
Christ announced by the prophets. He had, according to 
Justin, numerous followers. 

Justin^ mentions cursorily that there were heretical sects 

^ This story respecting the statue erected in honour of Simon Magus has 
been repeated by several of the Fathers, and was generally received as 
true, until in 1574 a statue was digged up in the Island of the Tiber, 
having an inscription commencing thus : " Semoni Sanco Deo Fidio 
Sacrum." The majority of learned men have since been of opinion that 
Justin, deceived by the similarity of names, mistook a statue in honour of 
a Sabine deity for one erected to Simon Magus. Thirlby afecis to defend 
Justin. Dr. Burton, in the notes to his Bampton Lectures, p. 374, decides 
in favour of Justin's accuracy. 

2 rot -rpwTov ei'ov. In the Dialogue, p. 349 D : ®iov v-npuvco -rda-zi; o!.px^<=, 
Koc) ilovffixi, xa.1 ^wdfiiu;. " God above all principality, and power, and 
might." 

3 ApoL i. pp. 69 E (34), 91 A (69). 
* ApoL i. pp. 70 A (35), 92 A (70). 

5 Dial. p. 253 E. The Marciani were probably the same as the 
Marcosii, so called from Marcus. 



94 Some Account of the 

under the names of Marciani, Valentiniani, Basilidiani, Satur- 
niliani, so called from the individuals who first broached the 
different heresies. He speaks, or rather assents to Trypho/ 
who speaks of Christians who, without scruple, ate food offered 
to idols. 

We have seen his own inference from the words in Gen. 
i. 26 : 2 " Let us make man in our image, after our likeness;" 
and iii. 22: " Lo, Adam is become as one of us." Some 
heretics affirmed that the Almighty addressed these words to 
the angels, by whom the human body was made.^ 

Justin speaks of two descriptions of Christians who denied 
that the Jews would finally be restored to the land of their 
ancestors, and that Jerusalem would be rebuilt : one class, 
as we have seen, consisted of Christians who were in other 
respects orthodox; the other,* of heretics who denied the 
resurrection of the dead, and affirmed that the soul, imme- 
diately on its separation from the body, was received into 
heaven. 

It has been already observed^ that Justin alludes to heretics 
who affirmed that the power who appeared to Moses, Abraham, 
and Jacob, was only an emanation from the Father, bearing 
different names, according to the functions assigned him ; 
being inseparable from the Father as the light of the 



1 Dial. p. 253 A. These were probably some of the Gnostic sects. 
Justin couples the eating of things oftered to idols with idolatry itself, 
and says that a Christian would rather suffer death than be guilty of either 
offence. 

2 P. 54- 

^ Dial. p. 285 E. It appears from Irenaeus, i. c. 22, and Tertullian, 
de Res. Cartiis, c. 5, that Menander, Marcus, and Saturnilus affirmed the 
human body to be the workmanship of angels. 

* P. 78 ; Dial. p. 307 A. ^ P. 50. 



Writings of Jicstiu Martyr. 95 

sun on the earth cannot be separated from the sun in the 
heaven. 



Justin appHes the name of sophists to certain persons who 
contended that, when God said, in Gen. iii. 22, "Lo, Adam 
is become as one of us," the expression was to be understood 
figuratively ; not as spoken of two or more persons numerically 
distinct from each other. ^ 

A\^e know, from the assertion of Justin himself,^ that he 
composed a work against all the heresies which had arisen in 
the Church; but it has not reached our time. 

Allusion has been made to a passage in the First Apology^' 
in which Justin appears to insinuate that the horrible crimes 
which were falsely charged upon the Christians in general by 
their adversaries might, perhaps, be committed in the assem- 
blies of the heretics. 

Justin twice appeals to the Acts of Pilate,^ in order to show 
that the predictions of the prophets concerning the Messiah 
were accomphshed in Jesus : first, with respect to the cir- 
cumstances which attended His crucifixion ; and secondly, 
with respect to the wonderful cures which He performed. 
Justin appeals^ also to the records of the census made by 
Cyrenius, the first Procurator at Judaea, in proof of the birth 
of Christ at Bethlehem, and of the time when the event 

1 Dial. p. 359 A. 2 Apol i. p. 70 C (36). 

« P. 8, note 3, p. 70 B (36). 

* Apol. i. p. 76 C (44), 84 C (56). Thirlby suspects that Justin was 
deceived by the fraud of some Christian who had falsified the genuine 
Acts, or misrepresented their contents. Both the circumstances to which 
Justin alludes are found in the spurious Acts of Pilate now extant. 
Respecting the Acts of Pilate, see Lardner, Heathen Testimonies, c. 2 ; 
Casaubon, ad Baronii Annates, xvi. I54> 

^ Apol. i. p. 75 K (43), 83 B (56) ; Dial. p. 303 K- 



96 Some Account of the 

occurred. He says that Christ was thirty years of age, more 
or less, before He was baptized by John,^ and that He worked 
at His father's trade, in order to inculcate the duties of justice 
and industry.2 

It has been frequently observed that Justin is not very 
accurate in his chronology. He supposes that Ptolemy, the 
king of Egypt who caused the Septuagint version to be made, 
was contemporary with Herod, king of Judaea.^ He says also, 
if the reading is correct, that Christ suffered under Herod 
the Ascalonite.* I say, if the reading is correct ; for in a 
subsequent passage he distinguishes very accurately between 
Herod the Great and Herod to whom Christ was sent by 
Pilate.5 

We may state, as another instance of Justin's view of 
chronology, that he supposed Deucalion to be the same as 
Noah.6 

In speaking of the prophecies by which the coming of Christ 
was announced, he says that some were uttered 5000, some 
3000, some 2000, some 1000, some 800 years before the event; 
and he immediately adds that Moses was the first prophet, 
and quotes the prediction of the dying Jacob.'' Pearson's 
remark on this passage is, " Mira Chronologia." But when 

^ Dial. p. 315 D. 2 Dial. p. 316 C. See Mark vi. 3. 

3 Apol. i. p. 72 C (39). 

* Dial. p. 272 A. xa) ykf *\\^u)hr,v, a,(^ oil sVa^iv, ^ Ka-KU.XwiWvt'i yiyovivai 
xiyovTi;, " Naming Herod the Ascalonite under whom lie suffered." 
Perhaps, instead of a(p' ov tTochv, we should read a(p' ou iTa.vffa.ro. Both 
i-TTa^iv and \-7ra,vffa,ro occur in the preceding sentence, or; oZv olVi-ron h raJ 
yivii VjUMv I'Travau.'To ovri 'rpo(pyirvs ovti clp^eov, l^orov ccp^i^v tXafsi, [^-XP'^ "^ 
ovro? 'I'/ia-ov; Xp;a-<Tos x/x) yiyovi xu) s-rechv. Casaubon, i. 2, would omit the 
words d(p' ov i-rcchv, or read Jip' ov iyiwri&n, too arbitrary a change. 

^ P. 330 D. See A/ol. i. p. 78 E (48). « Afol. ii. p. 45 C. 

7 Apol. i. p. 73 B (39). See p. 92 C (71). Dial. p. 247 B. 



IVrttuigs of Jtistin Martyr. 97 

Justin called Moses the first prophet, he seems to have meant 
that Moses was the first who recorded the prophecies of former 
ages ; not to have asserted, as Pearson infers, that Moses lived 
5000 years before Christ. On another occasion he says that 
David lived 1500 years before Christ^ According to the 
received chronology, Malachi prophesied about 400 years 
before Christ, and David lived between 1000 and iioo years 
before Christ. In both cases it differs about 400 years from 
Justin's chronology, who places the last prophet 800, David 
1500 years before Christ. Grabe supposes Justin to have 
placed an interval of 5500 years between the creation and 
the birth of Christ, and to have alluded to Adam when he 
spoke of a prophecy delivered 5000 years before Christ. 

Justin quotes the Sibyl and Hystaspes as saying that all 
corruptible things will finally be consumed by fire.^ On 
another occasion he states that the perusal of their books, as 
well as those of the prophets, had been prohibited through 
the instigation of the wicked demons, lest the readers should 
be led to the knowledge of the truth ; but that, notwithstanding 
the prohibition, the Christians continued to read them.^ 



CHAPTER VIII. 

AN EXAMINATION OF THE QUESTION, WHETHER JUSTIN 
QUOTED THE GOSPELS WHICH WE NOW HAVE? 

Lardner, in his account of Justin, conceives it to be plam, 
"that our Gospels are the books Justin made use of as 

1 Apol. i. p. 80 C (50). 2 Apol i. p. 66 C (28). 

3 Apol. i. p. 82 C (53). See Casaubon's remarks on this statement of 
Justin, Exa-cit. ad Baronii Annales, i. ii. 

D 



98 ... Sojne Account of the 

authentic histories of Jesus Christ." ^ Since, however, the 
controversy respecting the origin of the first three Gospels was 
raised in Germany, the correctness of the inference, which 
seemed so plain to Lardner, has been questioned ; and in our 
own country, a prelate, who occupies a place in the foremost 
rank of Biblical critics, has expressed a decided opinion, " that 
Justin did not quote our Gospels." If I venture to state the 
reasons which induce me to withhold my assent from the 
opinion so expressed, I trust that I shall be acquitted of the 
rashness and presumption of unnecessarily opposing myself to 
one, for whose learning and acuteness I cannot but entertain 
the greatest respect. But, professing as I do, to give an 
account of the writings and opinions of Justin Martyr, the 
reader will reasonably expect from me some notice of this 
important question. The principal value of the writings of the 
Fathers consists, perhaps, in the testimony which they bear to 
the authenticity of the books of the New Testament. 

It is certain that the only book of the New Testament 
expressly referred to by Justin is the Revelation, which he 
ascribes to the Apostle St. John. Yet it' is scarcely possible 
to conceive that he had not, in the course of his travels, and 
during his residence at Rome, met with most of the other 
books which now compose our canon. On the supposition 
that he had met with the present Gospels, the same reasons 
would have induced him to make his quotations from them, 
which induced the Church to admit them into the canon, in 
preference to all the other narratives of our Saviour's life and 
ministry. If he did not quote them, we must either suppose 
that he was unacquainted with them; or we must admit that 
a document then existed, which Justin deemed to be of 
greater authenticity than our present Gospels, but which has 
since been lost. 

• Credibility of the Gosfel Bistojy, c. x. sect. ix. 



Writings of Jitstin Martyr. 99 

Dodwell, in his Dissertations on Irenmis^ has stated the 
following reasons for thinking that the books from which 
Justin made his quotations were our present Gospels. He 
calls them Gospels ^ — the passages which he quotes are extant 
in our Gospels, with very Httle variation, and the insertions of 
passages from apocryphal books are very rare ^ — the account 
which he gives of the origin of what he terms aTroixvyjinovevfjiaTa 
r(hv 'AttocttoAwv corresponds with the origin of our Gospels, 
viz. that two were written by apostles, and two by companions 
of the apostles.* Moreover, Irenseus,^ who was nearly con- 
temporary with Justin, speaks as if it was a fact universally 
acknowledged, that there were only four Gospels ; and assigns 
reasons why there could be neither more nor less than four. 

The learned prelate, however, to whom I have alluded, 
thinks that the expression aTrofxvrjfjLovevfjiaTa tojv 'Attoo-toXwi/ is 
wholly inapplicable to our present Gospels.^ For — 

I. " The term 'ATroixvyjfjLovevfxara denotes not several works, 
each written by a different person, but simply one work." The 

^ Diss. i. c. xl. 

^ 01 aTOffroXoi sv to7s yivof/.ivoi; vtt ocvtuv oc9roij(,vyi[/.oviv(jca,(riv, a K0t.Xi7rai 
ihxyyiXicx,. "The apostles in their commentaries called the Gospels." 
Apol. i. p. 98 B (90). Bishop Marsh supposes the words a KccXurai 
iua.'yyikioe. to be an interpolation. 

■^ Dod well's words are, " Turn et ex ipso Justino qui e nostris Evangeliis 
loca plurima adduxit, et quidem id castissime, raro admodum immistis 
Apocryphis." 

* sv yap ToTs a.To/u-vn/xoviVf/.cctriv « (p'/i/uci vTo tcuv ' A'^ocrroXcuv ccvtcu x/rn tmv 
ixiivois 'prctpccKoXot/^l'/iffa.v'rcuv ffwrirdx^xi. Dial. p. 331 D. Dodwell's remark 
is, *' S. Lucae verba ipsa respexisse videtur, 'i1o\i xa^oi •vccpnx.oXov^yixori.^^ 

^ Tatian, Justin's scholar, composed a Diatessaron. Eusebius, Hist. 
Eccl. I. iv. c. 29. Theodoret, Hceret. Fab. 1. i. c. 20. The assertion, 
therefore, of Victor Capuanus that Tatian 's harmony was called 'hia. ^rivn 
is either erroneous, or, with Ittigius, we must read Tdvrav for 'rivn. 
According to Epiphanius, I/ar. 26 or 46, some called Tatian's Diatessaron 
"the Gospel according to the Hebrews." 

^ See Bishop Marsh's Illustration of his Hypothesis, Appendix, sect. iii. 



loo So7ne Account of the 

title U^vocfiojvTos airoixvqixovev^ara is used to denote a single work 
composed by a single author ; consequently, aTrofjivrjiJLoveviJ.aTa 
TO)v 'Attoo-toAcov must mean a single work composed by more 
than one author. But is this a necessary inference ? The title 
Hei^o^cGi/ros aTrofjt.v7]fxovevfxaTa means a collection of such sayings 
and acts of Socrates as were remembered by Xenophon ; in hke 
manner, airoixvYjixovev/xaTa twv ^ A-n-oa-ToXoyv means a collection 
of such sayings or acts of Christ as were remembered by the 
apostles. But the recollections of each apostle might be 
recorded in a separate book. One book might be entitled 
CLTro/xvrjixovevfxaTa Mar^atov, another, aTrofivyj/JioveviJiaTa Iwdvvov, 
while the general title might be dTro/xFT^/Aovev/xara rw]/ 'AttocttoAwf. 

II. " If Justin had departed from the common use of this 
title, and had meant to describe four different Gospels, written 
by four different authors, two of whom were not apostles, he 
would surely not have adopted the title twv 'Attoo-toXwv, as 
applicable to all four ; he would not have used the title Memoirs 
by the Apostles, if only two out of the twelve were concerned in 
drawing them up." The material part of this objection had 
been anticipated by Bishop Pearson, who, in speaking of the 
passage of Eusebius, in which the account given by Papias of 
the origin of St. Mark's Gospel is recorded, observes that the 
Gospels of St. Mark and St. Luke were understood by the 
ancients to be dTro/xi/Ty/xorcv/xara Xlerpov koX IlavAoi;.^ The term 
a7ro/xvY]ixovevixaTa tmv 'AttocttoXwv, therefore, applies to tlzem as 
well as to the other two Gospels. But the learned prelate 
seems to lay great stress on the article rwv, and to infer from 
it that all the apostles must have been concerned in drawing 
up the work. Let us, however, suppose that Justin had our 
present Gospels before him ; by what more aj^propriate title 
could he refer to them, when addressing a heathen Emperor 

^ ** Sic Marci Evangelium credebant Veteres nihil aliud fuisse quam 
Petri a':foy-vyif/,t)viu/iAccTx." Viudicice Ignatiance, Pais I. c. 6, j). 297. The 
passage of Eusebius is in Hisl. Eccl. 1. iii c. 39. 



Writings of Justin Martyr. loi 

or a Jew, than by that of o.7roixvy]ixnv€VfjLaTa tojv 'Attoo-toXoji/ ? 
The fallacy, if I may venture to use the term, lies in assuming 
that Justin refers to a work actually existing under the title of 
aTTOfxvrjfxovevfxaTa twv 'AttocttoAwv, whereas the expression is 
Justin's own, intended to convey to a heathen or a Jew a 
correct idea of the nature of the works which he quotes. The 
works were known to Christians by the title cvayyeAia, "Gospel,"^ 
as is evident from the clause which the learned prelate wishes 
to expunge as spurious ; and had Justin been addressing 
Christians, he would have used that title. But it is further 
urged that "Justin's constant practice is to name the author 
from whom he quotes ; and if we consult his numerous 
quotations from the Old Testament, we shall find that he does 
not content himself merely with saying, as it is written by the 
prophets or by the prophet, but that he adds by what prophet." 
If this statement were more sti'ictly correct than it is, satis- 
factory reasons might be assigned why Justin, in disputing 
with a Jew, should specify the book of the Old Testament to 
which he appeals, and yet not mention the particular Gospel 
which he is about to quote. In quoting the former, the object 
of Justin would be to influence Trypho's judgment, by appeal- 
ing to an authority which the Jews held in the highest 
veneration ; and he would naturally be minute and precise in 
hfs reference. But in quoting the New Testament, the autho- 
rity of which was denied by the Jews, his object would be not 

1 See the quotation in p. 99, note 2. There are two other passages in 
which the word iha.yy'i'kio'i is used to signify a written gospel : one in 
p. 227 C, where Trypho says that he had read the precepts delivered h tm 
Xiyofz.ivM ivocyyik'teo, " in the so-called gospel ; " the other in p. 326 D, where 

Justin says, kcx,) Iv tm ilayyiXioii Ti yiypa.-Trra.i UTTUiV, Iloivra, fjt.ot -rapKOi^oTCci 
ii'To ToZ ^KTDo;, TtoCi ovosts yiyvuffxu tov necrspcc il f/M v'lo;, ovol tov viov n /y-n 
Uxryip, KKi oli av vlo? a.-TToKaXv-^'yi, "And it is written in the gospel that 
He said : All things are delivered unto Me of the Father. And no man 
has known the Father but the Son, and no man the Son but the Father, 
and they to whom the Son has revealed Ilim," — an evident quotation by 
memory from Matt. xi. 27. 



I02 Some AccoiLnt of the 

so much to convince Trypho, as to state certain facts ; ^ the 
same exactness of citation would consequently be useless. On 
one occasion he appears almost to apologise for quoting the 
sacred books of the Christians.^ Should it be said that in his 
First Apology addressed to an heathen Emperor, Justin is no 
less exact in specifying the prophet, whose book he quotes, we 
reply, that the principal object for which Justin there refers to 
the books of the Old Testament, is to show that the prophecies 
respecting the Messiah were fulfilled in Jesus. It was important, 
therefore, to quote the precise words of the prophecy ; and 
Justin, with the view of proving that he does quote accurately, 
introduces his quotations by a short history of the Septuagint 
version, in order that the Emperor may, by referring to a 
work so generally known, satisfy himself of their correctness. 
The difference between the two cases is that, in quoting the 
Old Testament, Justin appeals to an authority ; in quoting 
the New, he does not : and this difference sufficiently accounts 
for the different manner in which the quotations are made. 

III. Another objection is that Justin is very exact in his 
quotations from the Old Testament : from which circumstance 
it is inferred that, if he had quoted our present Gospels, the 
same verbal coincidence would have been found in the quota- 
tions from them. But is Justin really so exact in his quota- 

* Thus, in the First Apology, where he says that the Christians gave to the 
prince of evil demons the titles Serpent, Satan, and Devil, he adds, <w; kva 
IX, raiv hy-iTtpuv ffvyypocf/.f^a.TOdv ipivvriffavTii fj(.cch7v 'hvvoi.a'h, " As you may easily 
learn from our Scriptures," p. 71 A (37). 

2 iTTiioyi yccj) aviyvco;, u Tfltl(pwv, ui avro; ofz-oXoyncrot,? i(pr,;, t« iv-t ikuvov tod 
ffair'^pos hf^^v 'hi^cc^divTCCy ovx, oItotov vofii^u ':ri'^oinx,ivoci kcx,) ^poc^'ia, tuv Ixuvov 
Xoyia^foi Toti Tpo(pi^rixo7s iTi/^v/iirhis. "For since you have read, O Trypho, 
as you have confessed, the teachings of our Saviour, I do not think it 
unseasonable for me to quote some of His precepts together with the 
prophetical writings." P. 235 D. If Trypho had not admitted that he 
had read the precepts delivered by Christ, Justin would have thought it 
unseasonable to quote them. 



Writings of Justin Martyr. 103 

tions from the Old Testament as this objection represents ? 
In ApoL i. he ascribes to Zephaniah a passage which is found 
in Zech. ix. 9/ and which he himself gives to Zechariah in 
the Dialogue with Trypho? In another passage he has mixed 
together Num. xxiv. 17, Isa. xi. i and li. 5.3 In another he 
appears to have mixed together Isa. vii. 14 and Matt. i. 23.* 
In another he professes to quote the prophet Micah, v. 2, 
but gives the words precisely as they stand in Matt. ii. 6.^ In 
another he has mixed together Isa. Ixv. 2 and Iviii. 2.^ In 
another he ascribes to Isaiah a passage, part of which is 
found in Jer. xxvii. 3.'^ In another ^ he ascribes to Jeremiah a 
passage which is found in Daniel. These instances, to which 
many others might be added,^ are surely sufficient to prove 
that Justin is not uniformly accurate in his quotations from 

^ P. 76 D (44). The latter part of the quotation agrees more nearly 
with the quotation of the same passage in Matt. xxi. 5 than with the 
Septuagint. There is not a verbal coincidence in the two quotations by 
Justin. 

2 P. 273 A. In p. 268 B, he gives Mai. iv. 5 to Zechariah. 

^ P. 74 C (42). In p. 269 B, he mixes together Num. xxvii. 18, 20, 
xi. 17, and Deut. xxxiv. 9. 

^ P. 74 E (42). '^ P. 75 D (43). 6 p. 76 A (44). 

7 P. 84 B (59). See also p. 89 A (65). » P. 86 E (62). 

^ In p. 344 B, Justin states a circumstance respecting Jesus, the High 
Priest mentioned in Zech. iii., which is not found in Scripture. In 
p. 232 D, he assigns to Hosea a passage which, in other places, he rightly 
gives to Zechariah. In p. 367 C, we find or; Iv rJ 'Hirxia, XiXiKra.1 l-ro rou 
@sov TTpos rhv ^lipovffuXhf^, on It) rod xciTUH,Xv(rf/,ou rod N&Jj 'iirutru. ffi, " that it 
is said in Isaiah by God to Jerusalem, Because I saved thee in the deluge 
of Noah," which Thirlby, with reason, conjectures to be an erroneous 
quotation from memory of Isa. liv. 8, 9. One of Middleton's charges 
against Justin is founded upon his negligent mode of quoting Scripture ; 
and it is remarkable that all the instances are taken from the Old Testa- 
ment. Enquiry, p. 161. In Apol. i. p. 95 A (loi), Justin speaks of Moses 
as feeding his uncle's flock, rov Tpo; f/.yirpos Suov, in Arabia. See Thirlby *s 
note. He says also that, as the bodies of the younger Israelites grew 
during their journey through the wilderness, their clothes grew also, uXXa 
KCti rec ruv vsar'ipuv (iv^vf/,aroc,) ffw/iv^oivi. Dial. p. 36' -D, See Deut. VUl, 4. 



I04 Some Accotint of the 

the Old Testament. The strictest verbal coincidence is 
observable in the quotations from the Psalms; for which 
Thirlby ^ seems satisfactorily to account, by remarking that the 
Psalms always formed a considerable part of the service of the 
Church, and thus were impressed more accurately on the 
memories of Christians. 

Let us now consider in detail the passages in which Justin 
expressly refers to the aTroixvq/jLOvevfxaTa tmv 'Attoo-toXwv. 
A_po/. i. p. 75 A (43). "And the angel of God that was 
sent to her delivered his embassy in these words : ' Behold 
thou shalt conceive in thy womb by the Holy Ghost and 
bring forth a Son, and He shall be called the Son of the 
Highest, and thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall 
save His people from their sins,' even as they who have 
recounted to us all things concerning our Saviour Jesus 
Christ have taught." The former part of this quotation is 
found, though the words are not precisely in the same order, 
in Luke i. 31, 32; the latter in Matt. i. 21. Justin joined 
the two quotations together, perhaps from error of memory, 
perhaps by design. 

P. 98 B (90). " For the apostles in their commentaries 
called the Gospels have left this command upon record : That 
Jesus took bread, and when He had given thanks. He said, 
' Do this in commemoration of Me, for this is My body ; ' 
and in like manner He took the cup, and when He had 
given thanks He said, 'This is My blood,' and dehvered it 
to them only." Here Justin evidently means to give the 
sense, not the exact words, of Scripture. 

P. 98 D (92). In this place there is no quotation, but 
Justin states that the dTro/xvTy/xovcv/xara Tcov 'AttootoAoj]/, or the 
(TvyypdixfxaTa twi/ IIpo^T^Twv, " writings of the prophets," were 

1 P. 239 E. 



Writings of Justin Martyr. 105 

read in the assemblies of the Christians every Sunday. 
Unless, therefore, the a-n-oixv-qfjiovev/xaTa here alluded to were 
our present Gospels, we must suppose that a work, esteemed 
to be of so high authority as to be publicly read in the 
Church, had wholly disappeared in the interval between 
Justin and Irenaeus, who recognised only our present Gospels. 
Is this probable ? 

Dial. p. 328 B. "For they who saw Him suspended on 
the cross, wagging their heads and shooting out their lips, and 
talking very mockingly among themselves, uttered those words 
which have been recorded in the commentaries of the apostles : 
'He called Himself the Son of God, let Him come down 
and walk; let God save Him.'" Justin in this instance has 
evidently, in quoting from memory, mixed up with Matt. 
xxvii. 42, words from Ps. xxi. 7, to which he had just 
referred. 

P. 329 C. " Holding His peace and resolving not to 
answer any of Pilate's questions, as it is written in the 
commentaries of the apostles." This is a reference, not a 
quotation. 

P. 331 B. "For after Christ had come up out of the 
river Jordan, where a voice had said of Him, 'Thou art my 
Son, this day have I begotten Thee,' it is written in the 
commentaries of the apostles that the devil drew near to 
Him and tempted Him, saying, 'Worship me;' but Christ 
answered him, 'Get thee hence, Satan, thou shalt adore the 
Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.'" In this 
passage Justin appears to have referred to Luke iii. 22, iv. 8, 
but, quoting from memory, to have cited the words of Ps. 
ii. 7, instead of Luke iii. 22. Is there not also reason for 
suspecting that Justin, in arguing with a Jew, might think 
that he added weight to his argument by substituting for the 



io6 Some Account of the 

actual words of the Gospel, words from the Old Testament, 
which the Jews themselves interpreted of the Messiah ? ^ It 
ought, however, to be observed that the Codex Bezae in 
Luke iii. 22 gives the words as Justin quotes them; and that 
Clemens Alexandrinus,^ who certainly quoted our Gospels, 
gives them in the same manner. They appear also to have 
been extant in the gospel used by the Ebionites.^ 

P. 331 D. "In the commentaries written by His apostles 
and their followers, it is carefully stated that His sweat ran 
down like drops of blood upon the earth while He prayed, 
saying, ' If it be possible, let this cup pass from Me.' " Here 
Justin evidently quotes Matt. xxvi. 39, though he adds 
from Luke xxii. 44, a circumstance which gives great weight 
to his argument ; his purpose being then to show that the 
prediction in Ps. xxii. 14 was actually accomplished in 
Christ's sufferings. 

P. 332 B. "What was done is written in the apostolic 
commentaries." And shortly after, "As we have learnt from 
the commentaries." Here are only references. 

P. 333 B. "And yielding up the Ghost upon the cross, He 

1 Compare p. 316 D. 

^ " For at the Lord's baptism a voice somided from heaven testifying to 
the love, 'Thou art my beloved Son, this day have I begotten Thee.'" 

cx,It1kcc yovv P>a,'ffTiZ,of^ivv rZ KvpiM aT olpavoov iTf/i^'/iffi (pu\/i f^aprvg 'Aya-'Wif^-^ou' 
tVoi (ji,ov i'l (TV ciycczT'/iro;, lyu ffrtf^ipov yiyivvriKU, ffi, Ptzdag. 1. i. C. 6, p. II3> 

ed. Pot. 

^ Epiphanius, HcEr. x. or xxi. sect, xiii., "And there came a voice from 
heaven saying, Thou art My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. 
And again, This day have I begotten Thee." x.ou (^cavn iyiviro Ix. rov ovpxvov, 

Xiyoua'cif ffu fJt,ov i\ viog o ofyci-mros, iv ffoi '/ivt'oKnffcx,. xk) craX/v, lyu ff^fispov 
yiy'ivv'/jxa. a%. In sect. iii. Epiphanius says that the Ebionites used the Gospel 
of St. Matthew (but corrupted and mutilated, sect, xiii.), and called it the 
Gospel according to the Hebrews, affirming that Matthew alone wrote in 
Hebrew. 



Writings of Justin Martyr. 107 

said, ' Father, into Thy hands I commit My spirit ; ' even as 
I have learnt from the apostolical commentaries." This 
quotation agrees with Luke xxiii. 46. In the received text 
we find "I will commend," instead of "I commend"; but 
the latter is marked as a various reading. Again, "It is 
also written in these commentaries that He spoke thus : 
'Unless your righteousness shall exceed that of the scribes 
and Pharisees, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of 
heaven,'" which agrees with Matt. v. 20. 

P- 333 I^- "These things are shown to have taken place 
in the writings of the apostles." Here is only a reference. 

P. 333 E. "And the saying that He gave to one of the 
apostles the surname of Peter is also related in the commen- 
taries of the apostles ; and also two other apostles, the sons of 
Zebedee, He surnamed Boanerges, that is, sons of thunder, as 
a sign that He w^as the same," etc. Here, although there is no 
quotation, there is an evident allusion to Mark iii. 17. 

P. 334 B. "The wise men from Arabia being taught by 
the star which appeared at the time of His birth, as it is 
written in the commentaries of His apostles, came to Him 
and worshipped Him. And it is written in the commentaries 
that He rose again on the third day after His crucifixion. 
For some of your nation, trying Him, said, ' Show us a sign ; ' 
and He answered them, 'An evil and adulterous generation 
seeketh a sign, but no sign shall be given to them but the sign 
of Jonah.' " In the former part of the passage, though there 
is no quotation, there is a manifest reference to the second 
chapter of St. Matthew; and in the latter part there is an 
almost exact verbal coincidence with Matt. xii. 39. 

P. 327 B. " Having written that He was the Son of God in 
the commentaries of the apostles." Here is no quotation. 



io8 Some Accoimt of the 

The inference which I am disposed to draw from the con- 
sideration of the above passages is, not that Justin quoted a 
narrative of our Saviour's life and ministry agreeing in sub- 
stance with our present Gospels, though differing from them 
in expression, but that he quoted our present Gospels from 
memory. This inference is, as it appears to me, equally 
deducible from those passages which he quotes without any 
express reference to the aTrofivrjixovevfxaTa rwi/ 'ATroo-ToAwj/. It 
is, moreover, necessary always to bear in mind, as has been 
already observed, that Justin does not appeal to the New 
Testament as an authority ; he wishes merely to give a true 
representation of the doctrines and precepts of the gospel, and 
for this purpose it was sufficient to express the meaning with- 
out any scrupulous regard to verbal accuracy. 

IV. It is objected that " Justin has quoted from his Memoirs 
by the Apostles, what does hot exist, either in sense or sub- 
stance, in any of our four Gospels." In p. 315 D, we read, 
" And when Jesus came to the river Jordan where John was 
baptizing, and descended into the water, fire was kindled in 
Jordan, and the apostles have written that when He came up 
out of the water, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him like a 
dove." The construction of this sentence is not very clear, 
and it has, in consequence, been conjectured that we ought, 
instead of av7](f30r], to read avyjcjiOat. Grabe,^ who has discussed 
the passage at considerable length, retains the old reading, 
and wishes to restrict the words, "the apostles wrote," 
to the latter part of the sentence, so that the authority 
of the apostles is appealed to o/i/y in confirmation of the 
descent of the Holy Spirit in the shape of a dove. This fact 
Grabe supposes Justin to have obtained from the present 
Gospels, and to have added the statement respecting the fire 
from tradition. Lardner appears disposed to acquiesce in this 
solution of the difficulty, which derives support from the fact 

1 Spicil. t. i. p. 19. 



Writings of Jttstin Mai'tyr, 109 

that, in quoting from the Old Testament, Justin sometimes 
mixes up statements not found in the sacred volume.^ I have 
already referred to a statement respecting Joshua, the high 
priest, who, according to Justin, is said to have been clothed 
in filthy garments because he had married a fornicatress : a 
statement of which there is no vestige in the prophet Zechariah.^ 
I referred also to the following statement, in p. 361 D, respect- 
ing the children of Israel in their journey through the wilder- 
ness : " Whose shoe-latchets were not broken, nor were the 
shoes themselves worn out, nor did the garments grow old, but 
those of the youths grew larger as they did," where, manifestly 
referring to Deut. viii. 4 and xxix. 5, he has mixed up facts 
derived from some other source than Scripture. It is not, 
therefore, improbable that Justin obtained the statement 
respecting the fire from tradition, and added it to the gospel 
narrative. The learned prelate, however, whose opinions on 
this subject I am venturing to controvert, thinks that Justin 
quoted the Gospel according to the Hebrews, which was also 
called the Gospel according to the twelve. For, according to 
Epiphanius,^ it was recorded in that Gospel that after Christ 
had ascended out of the water, and the Holy Spirit had 
descended, and the voice had come from heaven, a great light 
shone around the place. It has been observed that in Justin 

^ Credibility, c. lo, sect. viii. 

2 Seep. 103, note 9. Thirlby supposes Justin either to have confounded 
Joshua with Hosea, who was commanded to take such a wife, i. 2, or 
to have had in his mind Ezra x. 18, where the sons of Jeshua, the son 
of Jozadak, are said to have had strange wives. 

^ Part of the passage is quoted in p. 144, note i. x-a) u; av^x^sv aTo roZ 
v^xros, K. r. i. . . . xa) il6vs ^ipnXxf/.-4'i rov •roTov (pS; fiiyx, *' And as He 
came out of the water, etc. . . . and straightway a great light shone 
round about the place." The author of the tract de Baptismo Hareticoru?n, 
printed with Cyprian's works, says that a similar account was given in an 
heretical forgery extant under the title PrcBdicatio Petri. " Item, quum 
baptizaretur, ignem super aquam visum. Quod in Evangelio nuUo est 
scripttcm" " When He was baptized, there was a fire upon the face of the 
water, which is written in no Gospel," p. 30, ed. Oxon. 



no Some Account oj^the 

the fire is said to liave been lighted when Jesus descended 
into the water ; whereas, in the Gospel according to the 
Hebrews, the light shone after Jesus had come up out of the 
water ; a difference not merely of words, but of fact. The 
learned prelate, however, considers this difference of no im- 
portance. To Dodwell ^ it appeared of so much weight that he 
was induced to conclude from it that Justin did not quote the 
Ebionite Gospel, but obtained the account from tradition. 
Lardner suggests that the words -Kvp av^cjiOr], " fire was kindled," 
may be nothing more than a particular explication of the 
words avei^xOrjcrav ol ovpavoi, " the heavens were opened," in 
our present Gospels. Is it not more likely that they arose 
out of the declaration of the Baptist, that He who was to come 
after him would baptize with the Holy Ghost and ivithjire'^ 

The learned prelate urges another passage,^ in which Justin 
quotes a saying of our Lord not to be found in our present 
Gospels, " Wherefore also our Lord Jesus Christ said, ' Them 
whom I shall catch unawares among you, even them will I 
judge.'" This saying of our Lord is also quoted by Clemens 
Alexandrinus ; ^ and because Clemens has on another occasion 
expressly quoted the Gospel according to the Hebrews, the 
learned prelate argues that both he and Justin obtained the 
saying from that Gospel. But this is surely to draw conclu- 
sions from very insufficient premises. We find in the Acts of 
the Apostles ^ a saying of our Lord not recorded in the Gospels ; 
why might not the saying in question have been handed down 
in the same manner by tradition ? ^ 



1 Diss, in Ire^iceiim, ii. sect. ix. 

2 Dial. p. 267 A. 

3 Quis dives salvehir? sect. xl. 40, t. ii. p. 957, ed. Pot. Clemens 
does not ascribe the saying expressly to Christ. 

' X. 35. 

° See Jones On the Canon, t. i. appendix, part 2, sect, xii, Grabe, 
Spicil. t. i. p. 327. 



W^^itings of Justin Martyr. 1 1 1 

I will conclude my remarks on this interesting question 
with the words of an able writer/ who, at the same time that 
he protests against a gross misrepresentation which had been 
made of the learned prelate's opinion, thus expresses his 
dissent from the opinion itself: " In fact, the modern German 
divines appear to have been the first who thought the verbal 
diversity of Justin's quotations from the present text of the 
evangelists to be of any consequence. As a question of 
criticism, I own it is a difficult one ; and, did I think that 
Justin had not quoted our present books, I should not hesitate 
a moment to avow it. But when we reflect that there is no 
difference in \h^fads mentioned ; that the verbal coincidence 
is sometimes exact, and sometimes so great as to appear exact 
in a translation ; that Justin calls his books by the name of 
Gospels, and says that they were written by apostles and 
apostolic men, which precisely corresponds with ours, two of 
which are by apostles and two by apostolic men ; and that 
Irenaeus makes no mention of any other books so similar to 
ours as Justin's were, if they be not the same ; — when we 
reflect on these things, we shall find it hard to believe that 
Justin quoted any other Gospels than ours. If, however, it be 
thought necessary, notwithstanding all this, to grant that he 
did not quote our books, then it will be an inference scarcely 
less favourable to Christianity, that a set of sacred writings, 
different from ours, did yet testify to the truth of the same 
facts." 

^ Everett, Defence of Christianity ^ etc. , p. 474. 



1 1 2 Some Account of the 



CHAPTER IX. 

CONTAINING ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE PRECEDING CHAPTERS 
FROM THE WRITINGS OF TATIAN, ATHENAGORAS, AND 
THEOPHILUS OF ANTIOCH, WITH ADDITIONAL REMARKS. 

Page 6, note 2. Tatian uses the words ^eoXoyetv, OeoTroulv 
to signify what we express by the word ^(^/yj^, pp. 149 D, 157 B. 
Athenagoras uses OeoXoyelv in a sense approaching more nearly 
to that in which it is used in the Hortatory Address. Legatio, 
pp. 18 D, 24 C. ^eoTTotetv means to deify, in 24 B, D. 

P. 8. In the Dialogue with Trypho^ Justin alludes to the 
charge which was brought against the Christians of eating 
human flesh, and of indulging in the most horrible sensuality. 
Tatian alludes to the same charge, and complains of the 
injustice of condemning the Christians merely because they 
were Christians.^ Athenagoras ^ complains that the Christians 
were not allowed the liberty, which all other subjects of the 
Roman Empire enjoyed, of worshipping the gods whom they 
preferred ; and that they were persecuted only on account of 
their name : he affirms also that no proof was ever brought 
forward that they were guilty of the crimes laid to their charge. 
The same calumnies are noticed by Theophilus.* 

P. 8, note 2. Theophilus also plays upon the words 
"Christ" and "good."^ 

^ P. 227 B, referred to in chap. vi. note 3, p. 86. 
- Pp. 149 B, 158 D, 162 D, 164 A. 
^ Legatio, stib in. pp. 2 C, 3 A, 4 C, 7 D, 34 D, 38 B. 
■1 L, iii. pp. 119 B, 126 D. 

^ lyu f/Xv ovv of/.oko'ycu I'/voci 'X.ptimcc.vo;, xoci (popeo -to B-oipiXt; ovoy-a, tovto, 

iX'ffiZ,tA)v ivpcp'^ffTos uvat Tu @iu, " For I declare myself to be a Christian, 
and I bear the name of Theophilus, hoping to be serviceable to God." 
L. i. p. 69 B. Compare p. 77 B. 



Writings of Justin Martyr. 1 1 



o 



P. 8. In Apol. i. p. 64 D (25), Justin says that the 
Christians prayed for • the Emperors. So also Athenagoras, 
Leg. sub fin. Theophilus, 1. i. p. 76 D. 

P. 17, note 5. Athenagoras speaks of " the common, inborn 
notion/ 1 We find also " the eternal judgments." Dial. 
p. 246 A. 

P. 48, note 3. Athenagoras ^ quotes the same passage from 
the second Epistle of Plato, and thus argues upon it : ap' ovv 6 
Tov a'iStov vovv Koi \6yio KaTaXafifSavofxevov ircpLvoija'as 0eov, kol 
ra iTTLcrvfJifSelSyjKOTa avTw e^etTrcov, to ovtws ov, to fxovoff^vls, to 
ayaObv ojtt avTov aTTO^eo/xei/oi^, ovrep icrTlv aXrjO^ia' koL Trept 
TrpMTTjs Swa/xecos* kol ws Trcpt tov Trai/rcov ^a(riXca Travra ecrt, Kat 

CKCtVoV €V€K€V TTOLVTO., KOL Ik^VO oItIOV TTOVTOiV' KOL TTCpl SvO KOL 

rpia* BcvTcpov 8e Trepi, ra Sevrepa* Kat TpcTov irepi, to. rptra* irept 
Twv iK TOiV alcrOrjTwv y?)? re Kat ovpavov Xcyo/iiivoiv yeyovevat 
fXGL^ov rj KaO* iavTov TaXrjOh fiaOexv ivofiLO-ev ; rj ovk ecrrt]/ elireLV. 
He had just before said, nXarwv 8e to, aAAa liri-^^wv, kol auros 
€ts T€ TOV ayevvrjTOV 0eov Kat rovg ^tto tov ayew^TOV ets ko(T[lov 
tov ovpavov ycyovoras, to^;s T€ TrAavr/ra? Kat rovs (XTrAavets ao-repas, 
Kat ets Aaifxova<s T€fxv€f Trept wv Aat/xwcoi/ avros aira^MV Xey€LV 
TOts TTcpt avTwv elp-qKoa-iv 7rpocr€;)(€ti/ d^iot. Then follows a 
quotation from the Timceus of Plato.^ If Athenagoras had 
supposed that the writings of the Greek philosopher contained 
any intimations of the doctrine of the Trinity, here, surely, was 
a favourable opportunity for introducing the subject : but he 
is silent. 

P. 39. Athenagoras,^ in like manner, appeals to the belief 
of the Christians in the doctrine of the Trinity, for the pur- 

1 De Mart. Res. p. 54 D. 

2 Legatw, p. 26 A. 

3 Tom. iii. p. 40, ed. Serr. 
^ Legatio, p. 1 1 A. 



1 1 4 Some Account of the 

pose of defending them against the charge of atheism : rU ovv 
ovK av air oprjcr at, Aeyovras ©€ov irarepa koX vlov ©coi/ kcCi Trv(.vjxa 
aytov, SeLKvvvTa<i avroiv koi rrjv iv rfj kvuicrei Svvafxiv, kol rrjv iv 
rrj Tci^a Siatpccriv, aKovaas dOiovs Ka\ovjxivov<3 ; he had before 
said : ovSk rj/xcis aOeoL, vcf) ov Xoyco SeS-qfiLovpyrjTaL kol tw Trap' 
avTov TTvevfiaTL crwt^erat tol Travra, tovtov etSores kol KparovvTes 
©eoV.-^ In a subsequent passage we find, v-n-b ixovov Bk irapa- 
Tre/xTTO/x-evot tovtov, bv lo'ws (f. toracrt) @e6v, kol tov Trap* avTov 
\6yov elSivau, tls v) tov TraiSos Trpos tov Trarepa ci/ott/s, re's 7] 
TOV Trarpos Trpos tov vlov KOivinvia, tl to Tri/evyaa, tls rj twv 
ToaovTiov €V(jicrLS Koi Statpecrts, ivovfiivoiv tov TTvevfxaTOS, tov 
7rat8o5, TOV Trarpos.^ And again, ws yap ©eov tfiajjikv, kol vlov 
TOV Xoyov avTov, Kai irvevfxa aytov, evovfxeva fiev Kara 8wa/xtv, 
TOV Trarepa, tov vlov, to irvevfjia' otl vovs, Xoyos, cro^ia vlo<i tov 
Trarpos* koX diroppoia, ws cfiC><5 diro vrvpos, to TTV€.vp.a.^ With 
respect to Theophilus, it is well known that he is the earliest 
Christian writer who has used the word rpias, " Trinity." In 
his second book he is commenting on the work of creation, as 
described in the first chapter of Genesis. Having assigned a 
reason why the sun and moon were not created till the fourth 
day, he goes on to say that the sun is a type of God, the moon, 
of man ; and then adds, wo-avrws koX at rpets rjfxepai (f. ins. 
Trpo) Twv (famaT'^poiv yeyovvlau tvttoi clcrX r^s TpidSog, tov 0€ov, Kat 
TOV Adyov avTOV, kol ttJs aocfitas avTOV. TCTapTio Se TVirto (f. totto)) 
io'Tlv dvOpiMTTO'i 6 TrpoarS^yjs tov ^wto5, ti^a fj ©eos, Aoyos, cro^ta, 
av^pojTTos.* It is not very easy to discover wherein the corre- 
spondence between the types and antitypes consists ; one thing, 
however, is certain, that, according to the notions of Theophilus, 
God, His Word, and His Wisdom constitute a Trinity, and, it 
should seem, a Trinity of persons ; for man, whom he after- 
wards adds, is a person. One remarkable circumstance is, 
that Theophilus assigns to the third Person the title o-ocfita, 



1 Legalio, p. 7 A. ^\\\2 C. 

» P. 27 A. " P. 94 D- 



Writivgs of Just ill Martyr. t 1 5 

" Wisdom," 1 which is usually assigned by the early Fathers to 
the second, as in the passage just quoted from Athenagoras.^ 

P. 40, note I. Immediately after one of the passages 
just quoted from Athenagoras, follow these words, kox ovk 
eVt rovTOL<; to OeoXoyiKov r]fxC)V icrfaTat ix€po<;, dXXa ical 7rXf;^o? 
'AyyeAwv Kal Xeirovpywv </)a/x-€i/, ovs 6 Trotr^r^s Kal S^^/^iovpyo? 
Kua-fJiov 0eos Sta tov irap avTOV Xoyov 8teVct/xe kol SteVa^e irept 
re ra aroLx^la etvac Kal Tovs ovpavov^, Kal tov KocTfxov Kal ra 
eV avro), Kal ttjv rovroiv eira^iav.^ Here Athenagoras sa)S 
nothing of any worship to be paid to angels, though his words 
seem to imply that, in order fully to state the notions of the 
Christians respecting the Deity, it was necessary to add that 
they believed in the existence of a multitude of angels who 
were to have their attention continually directed to the ele- 
ments, heavens, etc. We should bear in mind that Justin 
and Athenagoras were replying to a charge of atheism ; and 
they appear to have thought that they strengthened their case 
by saying, " We not only believe in God, but also that He has 
subject to Him a multitude of ministering angels." It is to 
be observed that, according to the statement of Athenagoras, 
God distributed to those angels their various offices through 
the instrumentality of the Aoyos ; so that they were, in fact, 
the ministers of the Aoyo?. 

P. 42, note I. Thus Tatian, 0£os 6 KaO' rjfxa^ ovk e^t 

I'Compare 1. i. p. 74 B : @m hx rod Xoyov ulroZ ««) rm <ro(pUi Wo',r,<n 
r^l^.roc. rZ yko Xoya> ahroZ l<rrs^s^V.<r«v o\ cvp^yo), ^c) rZ ^n6f.^r.uvTcv 
^«<rS h ^.'v«/.;,' cclrZ.. I give the passage as it stands in the Benedictine 
edition ; the latter part is a quotation from Ps. xxxiu. Again, 1. u. p. 
96 D : i'r. f.m x«i ^, ^c^hUi ZPV^'-^ ° ®^^^ ivp'"^K^rcc. Xeym, -ro.musy^ 

v ru icAvrnZ X'oyM x.a] rn ia,urov <ro(pix. _ .. 

2'Theophilus himself gives the title .0(^1^^ to the second Person in 1. 11, 
pp. 88 C, 100 A, and to God absolutely, 1. i. p- 7 1 B. 

3 Legatio, p. 1 1 A. 



ii6 Some Accotmt of the 

(TvcrT<x(JLV kv )(povii), ix6vo<i avapy^os wi/, koI avT6<s VTrdp^oiV twv 
o\(ji)v apx^/'^ Again, t6v di/wi/o/xao-rov 0eoi/,- Again, vtto tov 
TrdvTOiv Srj/jLLovpyov.^ Again, 6 Se rwv oAoov SecrTTor');?.^ Unless, 
as was before remarked, it should be thought that some of 
these passages are to be understood of God absolutely. In 
Athenagoras we find, eVa ©eov — rov toCSc rov iza.vro'i TroirjTTjv, 
avTOV fxkv ov yevofjxvov (ort to ov ov ytyverat, dXXa to jmr) ov) iravra 
Se Sta rov irap avrov Xoyov ire-rrovqKOTa, etc.^ Again, eVa rov 
SrjfXiovpyov rCov oXoiv vodv dyivviqrov ®cov.^ Again, 6 rovh^ rov 
iravros SrjfJiLOvpyo? koL irariqpj Again, airoirLTTTOva-t tw (1. rov) 
Aoyo) OeioprjTov ®eov.^ Theophilus, in like manner, uses the 
expressions 6 ©eo? dyiwrjros wv kol dvaAXot'ooTos ^ — rov Trotyryjv 
KOL SrjfXLovpyov r^v oAtoj/ — 6 fxev roL y€ ©eo? kol 7raT>/p koI Kxtcrrry? 
T(ov oAoor.^'^ 

P. 42, note 3. Theophilus ^^ supposes the following objec- 
tion to be made : — " You say that God cannot be limited to a 
place, yet you say that He walked in Paradise." Theophilus 
answers, " It is true that God cannot be limited to a place, or 
be found in a place ; for He has no place of His rest (Isa. 
Ivi. i). But His Word, by whom He made all things, being 
His Power and Wisdom, assuming the person of the Father 
and Lord of the universe, came into Paradise in the person 
of God, and conversed with Adam. For the Divine Scripture 
itself instructs us that Adam said that he heard a voice ; but 
what is this voice else than the Word of God, who is His 
Son." 

P. 57. Tatian thus states his view of the Christian doc- 

' P. 144 C. 2 p^ 1^4 D^ 

3 P. 145 D. " P. 151 D. 

' Legatio^ P- 5 C. ^ P. 7 A. See also p. 10 A, 

" P. 13 B. 8 p 24 B. See pp. 5 B, 26 A. 

'J P. 82 C. See p. 71 C. 10 P. no B. See pp. 122 D, 89 A. 

^' L. ii. p. 100 A. Theophilus calls God to^oj tuv oXuv, " the place of 

the universe," 1. 2, p. 81 D, and ioivrov toto;, "His place," p. 88 B. 



Writings of Jus i in Martyr. 1 1 7 

trine respecting the second Person in the Trinity -} " God was 
in the beginning ; but we understand the beginning to be the 
power of the Word. For the Lord of all things, being Him- 
self the substance of all things, with reference to the creation 
which did not yet exist, was alone ; but inasmuch as He 
comprehended all power, and all things, visible and invisible, 
subsisted in Him, all things were with Him. For with Him 
also by a rational power subsisted the Word, who was in Him. 
By the unity of His will the Word went forth ; and the Word 
going forth not ineffectually (but so as to produce an effect, 
viz. the creation of the universe), became the first-born work 

^ 050? '^v b a,p^^' rhv Ti a^ix/Av Aoyov ^vvx/jtiv ^apuX^ipeitfAsv' o yap ^itTTor'/ts 
rav oXav, avroi vcrccp^av tou <xavrli h V'^'offrcctrts^ kcctoc fiiv rijv fiyioiTco 
yiyivxf^ivT^v ^oir,(riv [Jb'avos *W xx6o Vi vrocira. o{)vu,y.n opa<ruv ri koc) uopoiruv uuros 
vToffTKtns j)v, <rvv aura! to, TavTO,' trvv ahrZ yap oia XoytnTi; owdfuu; alros 
xai koyoSf 0; viv \v avTui, v<ri(rrYi(Ti' CiX'/ifJi-aTi %% tjjj aTXar'/iros avrov rrpoT'/iha, 
koyos' Ti koyos, oh xara xivod ^cup^tras, spyov 'TtpuroroKOV rov Tvivf^aro; 
(f. ^arpos) yiyvsTai' toutov "fffi^v tou k'o(T(ji.ou rhv ap^nv. yiyovi oi na-ra, 
fjt,ipi(r[ji.ov, oh Kura a-ffoxo'Ttnv. to yap a^rar^Jj^sv 7ou Trpuirov x,ix,^pifTat' ro os 
LtipttrSiv oixovof/.ixs ryiv a'tpitriv TpoffXafhov ovx ivdia tov o^iv iiX'/i'^Tat 'TTi'ffotYiXiv. 
uff'jeip yap aTo f/,ia; ^a^o; avdcrrsrai (Av 'ffvpa voXXa, rTi; oi Tpuryi; oaooi 
3/a T^v 'i^a\piv tmv toXXuv ^a'^cuv olx IXarrovron ro <pu;' ovru xat o Xoyog, 
9tpoiX&a)V IK TYi; rov 'ffarpo; ^vvdy,iui, ovx, aXoyov 'Tti'Troinxi rov yiyiw/ixora. 
Ku) yap avro; lyu XaXu, xa) vi^ili dxovin, xai ol dvi'^rov oia rvis f^srafiacnco; 
rov Xoyov xivos o <rpQffoij>.iXuiv X'oyou yiyvofAai' -^pofiaXXofiivo? ol ryjv if^avrou 
(^MVYiv, ^iaxo(rju.uv rviv tv vfjuv ax'oiriJ.'ATov vXjjv <7rporpYi[Jcat. xai xa^aftp o Xoyo$, 
£v apx''^ ysw/jhi;, avnysw/itn rnv xa9 nfjt.as •ffoino'iv, avro; savreo mv vA'/tv 
trifjt.iovpymai' ourco xayu xara rhv rov Xoyov fi'ifiYiffiv dvayivv/ihi?, xai mv rov 
dXn9ov$ xardXn^iv <^iToiyi[ji,ivo$, f/,irappv^f^,iZM rtig ffvyytvov; vX'/i; mv (rvyx,v(nv, 
p. 145 A. This difficult passage has furnished ample room for discussion. 
Petavius, and the author of the Dissertation on Tatian^ in the Oxford 
edition, thought that by Xoyov IvvayAv, "the power of the Word," was 
meant the same as by Xoyix~Ai lvvdfA,-oji which follows, that is, the power 
of reason by which God produces all things ; in other words, that, before 
the emission of the A.oyo'„ He existed only in posse, not in esse. Bull, 
on the contrary, and Le Nourry contend, that by Xoyov ^vvafiis we must 
understand the power of the Word, that is, the Word Himself, referring 
in support of this interpretation to -h Tt rov Xoyov Ivva^M; in p. 146 D. 
The expression Xoyixn? ^vvdy-iw, occurs again in p. 146 B. A'oyoc yap 



1 1 8 Some Accoitnt of the 

of the Father. Him (the Word) we know to be the beginning 
of the universe." 

" He was begotten by division, not by abscission. For that 
which is cut off is separated from the original ; but that which 
is divided, voluntarily taking its part in the economy, does 
not impoverish Him from Whom it is taken. As many fires 
are lighted from one torch, yet the light of the first torch is 
not diminished by the lighting of many from it ; so the Word 
(or Reason) proceeding from the power of the Father, did not 
render Him who begat destitute of Word (or Reason). For 
I speak, and you hear ; yet I who converse am not, by the 
transfer of the words, rendered destitute of the word j but 

i^ovpdvioSf ^viv/iu ytyovu; a.'Tfo tou Totrpos, x.ut Aoyos Ix tjjj Koyixris ovvoifAieoSy 
where the Oxford editor translates Ik tyu Xoyixiis "Swcifz.sa;, " Ex potentia 
divina rod Xoyov productrice." Petavius also differs from Bull respecting 
the translation of the words ^lu Xoyixtis ^vvccfAius avros xa) o Aoyos, os «v 
iv ciuTo/, v-7r'i(TTr,ffiy which the former renders ^^ per rationalem vim Aoyos ipse, 
qui in eoerat, extitit:" the latter, ^^ per rationalem potentiam turn ipse, turn 
Aoyos qtd in ipso erat, substitil." I have followed Petavius, thinking his 
translation more agreeable both to the construction of the sentence, and 
to the whole scope of the passage ; being further confirmed in this opinion 
by a corresponding passage of TertuUian, quoted by the Oxford editor, 
^^ Ante omnia Dens er at solus, quia nihil aliud extrinsecus prceter ilium. 
Caterum ne turn quide7?i solus: habebat enim secum, quam habebat in 
semetipso Rationem suam scilicet^'' — contra Praxeam, c. 5. The Oxford 
editor suggests very plausibly that we should read ahrov instead of avrss. 
In p. 155 D, Tatian speaks of demons who were smitten, XoyM @iov ^wa.- 
fitus. We find >.oyou '^uvoif/.u, p. 157 C, with reference to the healing of 
diseases. Bull translates the words h'krty.a.rL 'hX rns a.-rXoryiro; cthrov literally 
by the words " Voluntate autem simplicitatis sucb ; " and Waterland is angry 
with Whitby for not allowing the words to appear as they lie in the 
author, without the mean artifice of giving them a false turn. By the 
will of His simplicity the Word proceeded forth, torn. iii. p. 271. I wish 
that Bull and Waterland had told us the exact meaning which ought to 
be attached to the words. By the will of His simplicity I conceive that 
Tatian meant to express the simplicity of the divine nature, and the 
consequent unity of the divine will. 



Writings of Justin Maj^tyr, 119 

sending forth my voice, I design to reduce into order the 
confused matter in you. And as the Word, being begotten 
in the beginning, begat in turn the creation in which we are, 
having formed matter for His own use ; so I also, being 
begotten again after the imitation of the Word, and having 
arrived at the comprehension of the truth, reduce into order 
the confusion of kindred matter." In this passage we find 
the notion respecting the subsistence of the Aoyos from 
eternity in a state of most intimate union with the P'ather, 
which I have stated to be common among the Ante-Nicene 
Fathers, but not to be clearly expressed by Justin.^ When, 
too, Tatian says that the Aoyos was not only in^ but with the 
Father, he appears to intend to express a distinct personality. 
Waterland has observed, that he speaks only of a temporal 
geiieration.- In order to explain the mode of it, he uses the 
same illustration of a fire which Justin had used ; he dis- 
tinguishes, however, between the words " to divide " and 
" to cut off," w^hich Justin has used indifferently. The in- 
ference apparently intended to be drawn from the comparison 
with a fire is, that the substance of the Father was not 
divided in consequence of the generation of the Aoyos. The 
intent of the subsequent illustration, taken from the human 
voice, is less clear, and the illustration itself open, perhaps, to 
some objection. It is also used by Justin.^ 

It will be observed that Tatian calls the Aoyos the beginning 
of the universe, tovtov tV/xei/ tov KoafJiov rrjv 0Lpx>jv- This title 
I conceive to have been derived from Prov. viii. 22: "The 
Lord possessed me in the beginning of His way, before His 
works of old," which is twice * quoted by Justin in proof of 
the generation of the Word to create the world ; though he 
does not apply the title dpxrj to the Ao'yos. Bull supposes 
Tatian to have meant by the word apxq the idea and exemplar 

1 P. 44. 2 Vol. iii. p. 270. 

3 Dm/, p. 284 B. " Dm/, pp. 2S4 D, 359 A. 



I20 Sojue Ac count of the 

of the universe, which was always present to the Deity ; and 
thus in one sense it might be said that the universe was 
present to the Deity before the creation ; in its dpx^j ^^ P^^^" 
ciple, or idea, that is, in the Adyo9.i If this was Tatian's 
meaning, we must allow that he has expressed it very im- 
perfectly ; yet I seem to discover more traces of the influence 
of Gentile philosophy on his language and opinions than on 
those of his master Justin. 

Let us proceed to Athenagoras. Defending the Christians 
against the charge of atheism, he says : ^ "I have sufficiently 
shown that we are not atheists ; we who hold one God, Un- 
begotten, Eternal, Invisible, not subject to suffering, incompre- 
hensible, not circumscribed by place, conceived only by the 

^ "Sed et hoc voluit significare Tatianus, Deo ante conditum mundum 
etiam ipsum quodammodo mundum praesentem fuisse ; quum ipsi revera 
prsesens fuerit h Xeyos mundi principium, qui et idea est et exemplar, sive 
ars divina, qua Pater universa, quum voluit, molitus est." Def. Fid. Nic, 
sect. iii. c. 6. 

2 TO f/,iv ovv olSioi yM iivai, tvec. tov wyivvfi-rov x.u) oi'ioiov xa) dopocrov kki d.'ffa.dyt 
Koc) UKCcruXTtTrov kou a^up'/irov, vZ fAoveo ko) koyeo xKre6Xecf/,[ixvoiu,ivov, <pur) kou 

KCuXXll KOil TViVf/,Oiri KO,] CVVoifiU aViX^tViyrtTM '^ipiS^Of/.lVOV, V<p' OU yiyiViJTCCI TO 

'Xa,'/ OK/, TOV avTov Xoyov koc) diec.pitK6(rf/.yiTa.t xou o'vyxpoinTroii, @iov clyovTsg^ iTcavw: 
f^oi Oid'axrut. voovf^iv yap xot,) vlov tov Qiov' xu) f/,n fjt,oi yiXoTov ris vofiitrtj to 
v'lov uvai TM QiM. ol yxp, ojs toititou fA.v&o'Trotouo'iv, olicilv fhiXTiov; Tuv d.vSpu'Truv 

OUXVVVTiS Tohs hohs, « Tip) TOV @S0V xou TOCTpo;, n Tip) TOV v'lOV Ti(PpOV'^XOifiiv' 

akX EffTiv vteg tov Qiov Aoyo; tov TocTpo;, Iv IVia xoc) Ivipyi'ia,, Tpo; uItoZ yocp 
xcc) at avTou tolvto, iyiviTo, Ivo; ovtos tou TXTpo; xoc) tov vlov' ovto; 2j tov viov 

IV TO!,Tpi, XOCt TOtTpOS iV Vlifl, iVOT'/JTt XOU OVyiX,fjl,il TViVfjt-OiTOi' VOV; XOi) AoyoS TOV 
TUTpo;, ViOi TOV &iOV. it §£ ^i' VTipP>oX7lV ffVv'ifflOJS ffXOTilV VfJUV STilfflV TOUi Tl 
(iovXiTOil, ipcu OlOi (ipU^iav' TpUTOV yBVVn/U,Bi iJvOU TM 'TXTp), OV^ us yiVOfiiVOV (1^ 

appf^fis yap o &io;, vovs atotos «v, £/;^sv ocvtos iv Iocutm tov koyov, cotdiu; Xoytxo; 
&v) kXX u? tuv vXixuv ^vf/,-7ra.vTuv, ccToiov (pvcnus xou yyi? (f. oToioc; (pvffiu; xoc) 
yivov$) o^noci vToxitfjcivuv oixyiv, fMf/,iyf/,ivuv tuv Toc^vfUffTipuv Tpo; TO, xov(poTipoi 
It avToT;, toioc xou Ivipyiioc ilvou TpoiX6uv. ffwaon oi tu Xoycu xcc) to TpoipyiTtxov 
Tviufjcoc, Kvpios yocpf (pyiff)v, 'ixTiffi /u,i, ctp^hv o^uv ccvtov its 'ipyoc ocvtov. xoc) toi 

xou CCVTO TO iVipyOVV TOli \x(^OiJ\OV(ri Tpotpyj-IXu; ecyiOV TViVfiOC, ocToppoiocv ilVOCI 

(pocfjcn TOV kdioZ, ccToppiov xoc) £T«v«^£^«^jVflv, u; cIxtIvoc nX'iov, Leg, p. 10 A. 



Writings of Jttstin Martyr, 



121 



mind and reason, surrounded by ineffable light and beauty, 
the Spirit and Power, by Whom, through His Word, every- 
thing was made and adorned and is preserved. We acknow- 
ledge also a Son of God; and let no one think it ridiculous 
that there should be a Son of God. For we deem not of God 
and the Father, or of the Son, as the poet's fable, who repre- 
sent the gods as no better than men. The Word of the 
Father is the Son of God, in idea and operation. For by 
Him and through Him were all things made, the Father and 
the Son being one : the Son being in the Father, and the 
Father in the Son, by the unity and power of the Spirit. The 
Mind and Word of God is the Son of God." 

" But if you (O Emperors), through the excellence of your 
understanding, are desirous to inquire what the Son means, I 
will briefly explain myself. He is the First-begotten to the 
Father, not as if made (for from the beginning God, being the 
eternal Mind, had within Himself the Word or Reason, being 
from eternity rational), but as if proceeding forth to be the 
idea and operating cause of all material things, of whatever 
nature and kind, which are subjected as a vehicle to Him, the 
denser parts being mixed with the lighter. The prophetic 
Spirit agrees with what I say : ' The Lord,' He says, ' formed 
me the beginning of His ways to His works.' Though we 
also say that the Holy Spirit, Who works in those who speak 
prophetically, is an emanation from the Deity, flowing forth 
and reflected as a ray of the sun." 

In another passage,^ Athenagoras says to the Emperors 

^ 'i^oiTi a'lp' letVTuv koc) tviv iTovpdviov [iaa'ikiia.v l^irdi^uv, as yap vfAtv, farpi 
Ka) VIM, Tfdvra Ki^upurxi, cUvcahv rhv [iaffiXiiccv il'kn(poin (fiairtXicari yap ^v^y> iv 
p(;iip) @ioZ, <pti(r) TO •7rpo(p'/iTi}cov 'TTvivpt.a) ovras h) rw @tu kki ru "Trap avrov Xoyiu, 
VIM voovf^iVM df/^ipiffro), Tavra, v9rorirx}cxi. LcgatlO, p. 17 D. We find in 
p. 15 C, ?ravra ya.p Qio; itrriv avros ocutui, (pZs ocTTpocrirov, KOff^oi rsXno;, 
-rviZf^a, IvvKfii?, Xoyos. "For God Himself is all things in Himself, 
inaccessible light, a perfect world, a spirit, power, the Word." 



122 Soj7ie Account of the 

whom he is addressing, "You may estimate the heavenly 
empire by your own ; for as all things are subject to you, 
father and son, who have received the empire from above (for 
the prophetic Spirit says that the soul of the king is in the 
hand of God, Pro v. xxi. i), so all things are subject to one 
God and to His Word, Who is conceived to be the Son, 
inseparable from Him." 

In the former of these passages we find the subsistence of 
the Adyos from eternity in a state of intimate union with the 
Father expressly declared ; and though Athenagoras does not 
use the term, yet, as Bull has observed,^ he evidently had in 
his mind the notion, which was afterv/ards conveyed by the 
term irepLXf^prja-ts or Circumincession ; a word designed to 
express the mutual penetration, if I may so express myself, 
of the three Persons of the Trinity — the entireness of their 
union. We find also the notion that the Adyog was the idea 
or exemplar of all created things ; and that He was begotten 
in order to be the agent in the work of creation. Still we 
find mention only of a temporal generation. The illustration 
contained in the second passage has been noticed by Gibbon : ^ 
he calls it profane and absurd, and says, with a sneer, that it 
has been alleged without censure by Bull. But the object of 
Athenagoras in employing it was, not to explain the mode 
of subsistence of the Father and Son, but to show that the 
monarchy, as it was termed, — the unity of the divine govern- 
ment, — was not infringed by the distinction of Persons in 
the Godhead. Bull produces the passage in order to clear 
Athenagoras from the charge of Sabellianism ; and undoubtedly 
a Sabellian would not have used the illustration. Such, how- 
ever, are the difficulties inherent in the very nature of the 
subject, that it is scarcely possible for a writer so to guard 
his expressions as not to be open to cavil. How apt soever 

' De/. Fid. Nic. sect, iv, c. 4. 
^ Chap. xxi. note 50, 



Writings of Justin Martyr. 123 

an illustration may be in one point of view, it may be most 
inapplicable in another, and lead to most inconvenient 
consequences. 

Let us now consider the language of Theophilus. Speaking 
of the prophets, he says ^ : " First they taught us with one 
consent that God made all things out of nothing. P'or nothing 
was contemporaneous with God. But He being His own 
place, and wanting nothing, and existing before the ages, 
willed to make man by whom He might be known. For him, 
therefore, He prepared the world. For he that is created 
stands in need (of another) ; but He that is increate wants 
nothing. God, therefore, having His own Word internal 
within His own bowels, begat Him, emitting Him in conjunc- 
tion with His wisdom before all things. He had this Word as 
His minister in the work of creation, and by Him He made 
all things. He is called the beginning, because He is the 
commencement and ruler over all things created by Him. 
He therefore being the Spirit of God, and the beginning, and 
the wisdom, and the power of the Most High, descended into 
the prophets, and through them spake of the creation of the 
world and of all other things. For the prophets were not 

oh yap 71 Tu &iu /rvv^Kf/^ocg-tv' aXX' ulro; lavTOu TOTToi uv, xa.) avivdihs cdv, 
xa) v'pripi^wv <ffpo Tuv cciMvuv, ridiXn<Tiv avSpuTrov 'pfoinffcii <u yyuffdri. tovtw ovv 
7rpoy]retf/.BC(n rov KO(rfJt,ov. o yap yivnros xai TpoffoiYis ictiv o ot ayiv/iTo; ovoivog 
7tpo(r^i7rai. 'i^cuv ovv o %ioi tov lavrou Xoyov Ivoiahrov sv roT; loioi; tr-rXay^vois 
iysvv/^tnv alrov, [/.ira tyis lavroZ ao^lai l^ipiv^a^ivos 'VpQ tmv oXuv. tovtov <rov 
Xoyov tiTvsv vTovpyov tcov vt avrou yiysvyjf^iVMV, xai oi avrov Ta 'Tfavra 
•^iTTo'iy^xiv' ovTos Xiyirai ap^h, on eip^n xa) xupnvii '^dvT&iv tuv di avrov 
ti^yi/Movpy/if^ivav. ovtos oZv uv -xviviJt.a @sou, xa) ap^y;, xa) o-o(pia, xa) duvaf/.ii 
v'^iffTou xKT^ppf^iTo SIS Tov; 9rpo(p^Tas, xa) oi' alruv iXaXu ra Tip) T>is Toinffiu; 
TOV xofffiov xa) Tuv Xoi<7ruy a'Tfavruv. oh yap VK/av ot -^poip'/iTai on o xofffioi 
lyivsTo, aXXa vi ffo(pia h Iv ahraj ovffa h tov &sov, xa) o Aoyog o ayto$ avrou o au 
ffVf^-TTapuv ahrw. L. ii. p. 88 B. In p. 92 D, we find h lidrali; ovv TOV 010V 
tovt'o iffTtv, X'oyos ahrov ^alvuv atf^ip Xv^vo; k. t. i. The creation IS Ol 

God, His Word appearing as an illumination," etc. See p. 93 B. 



124 Some Account of the 

when the world was made ; but the Wisdom of God Who was 
in Him, and His Holy Word Who was always present with 
Him." 

In another passage ^ he says : " For the sacred Scripture 
represents to us Adam saying that he heard the voice (of 
God) ; but what else is the voice than the Word of God, Who 
is His Son ? Not as the poets and writers of fables talk of the 
sons of gods born from intercourse with women, but as the 
truth represents the Word, always internal in the heart of 
God. For before anything was created, God had Him as His 
counsellor, being His mind and intelligence ; but when God 
willed to create what He had designed, He begat this Word 
to go forth, to be the first-born of all creation ; not being 
Himself emptied of the Word, but having begotten and always 
conversing with the Word." 

Here again we find the notion of the subsistence of the 
Word from eternity in a state of most intimate union with 
God, and of His subsequent generation to create the world. 
We have observed that Theophilus is the earliest Christian 
author in whose writings the word " Trinity " occurs ; he is 
the first also who distinguishes expressly between the Adyos 
ei/Sia^eros and Trpo^optKos, the internal and emitted Word. 
Theophilus also, like Tatian, applies the title o.pyy] to the 
Adyo9 with a particular reference to Proverbs viii. and 
Genesis i.^ 

a,}C7ix,oocvot,i' (puvn o\ rt uWo iffr^v a.XX h o Aoyog o tov @ioi!, o; lim fca.] 
vios avTov, oh^ u; ol "pfoinTcci kou f/.v$o'ypoc(poi Xiyovtnv vtovg 6iuv ix, ffvvovffiois 
yivvu/jcsvovs' akXa ug a,\yt6ita ^i^^yiTTSii, tov Xoyov, tov ovtcc ^iocttocvto; Ivoid^iTov 
IV Kocphta @ioZ. Tpo yccp Ti y'lyviff^ai, tovtov ux,- (fVfJi-^ov'kov^ la-vTov vovv xai 
tppovyia'iv ovTcx.. o'^'oTi oi yj^iX'/iinv o 0£oj Totl^ffoii ococ IfsovXivffccTo, tovtov tov Xoyov 
iyivvyiffi 'rpo(popiKOV, TTpaJTOTOKOV 'TtaffYii aTiffiu;, ol xivouhts ccvtos tov Xoyou, aXXa 
Xoyov yivvYiffoci^ kou tm X'oyu ccvtou ^iccpravTos o/mXcov, L. ii. p. lOO A. 

'■^ P. 88 D. So in p. 92 B. iv ocp^yi \<7roin<Tiv &-o; TOV ovpecvov, TovTsff-i, 



Writings of Justin Martyr. 1 2 5 

P. 46, note 3. I have observed in this note that, because 
Justin speaks of the world as created out of matter without 
form, we must not, therefore, suppose him to have main- 
tained the eternity of matter. The Benedictine editors are 
extremely anxious to clear him from the suspicion of having 
entertained such an opinion, and with this view refer to 
passages in the Hortatory Address to the Gentiles. But having 
already declared my doubts of the genuineness of that tract, I 
cannot rely upon the passages quoted from it. As, however, 
Justin's instructor applauds him for saying, in opposition to 
the Platonists, that the world was not eternal,^ we may reason- 
ably infer that he did not maintain the eternity of matter. 

If we turn to Tatian, we shall find him expressly affirming 
that matter had a beginning : " For matter is not without 
beginning as God is, and thus it is not equal in power to God. 
For it is created and was begotten by no other, but was emitted 
by the sole Creator of all things." ^ 

Athenagoras, in like manner distinguishing between the 

^/« rvii apx/i; yiyivnT^cci tov ovpavov, actSui s^^-zj^sv 'hihnXM-AiM/A. In a descrip- 
tion of the Deity, p. 71 A, we find the following remarkable passage : li 
yap (pu? ahrov u-ffa, 'Jtoivi[ji.a. uhroZ Xsyu' il X'oyov ii'^u, ap^/iv oclrou Xiyw' vovv 
Iccv i'l'Tfci), (ppov'/jtriv alroZ Xiyu' 'Tt^nvf/.a. locv ii'ttm^ u^oc^Monv kutov Xiyu' ffoipiocv 
lav u^co, yivvyjfia ahrov Xiyu' lir^vv lav sJViy, x,pdro; alrou Xiyea' ovvai^iv lav 
UTTa), Ivipyuav ahrov kiyeo' "TTfovoiav lav uttu, ayaSoawnv ahrov "kiyu' (iacriXiiav 
iav SfTTu^ oo^av avrou Xiyco xvpiov tav ii^rtu, lavrov Kiyu -TCaripa lav it'^w, ra 
Tavra ahrov Xiyu' TTvp iav il-Ttu^ rhv opyhv ahrov Xiyoj, See also p. 'J^Y) ', 

1. iii. p. 122 D. 

' Dial. p. 223 A. See Beausobre, Histoire du Manicheisfne, 1. 5, cc. 

2, 4, 5- 

" P. 145 C. He had just before said of the Aoyo$, ahro; lavrZ rhv vXyiv 
hfiiovpy^a-as, "He created matter by Himself." In another place he 
says that all matter was sent forth or emitted by God ; some of it to be 
considered as being without form before a separation had taken plnce, 
some as being adorned and reduced to order after the separation, p. 151 
A. See Beansobre, 1. 5, c. 5. 



126 Some Account of the 

divine nature and matter, says that the former is increate 
and eternal, the latter created and corruptible : ro \jXv yap 

uetov ayevrjTOV elvat kol atSiov, v<2 pAvm koI A-oyoj Oewpov/JL^vov 
r-qv hk vXrjv yevqrrjv kol cfiOapTi^v} In another place he says 
that God and matter differ as widely from each other as the 
artisan and the materials upon which he employs his art.^ 

Theophilus says expressly that God produced all things from 
a state of non-existence into a state of existence : to. TrdvTa 6 
©eos iTroLY](T€v ii ovk ovtmv eis to etvat.^ In another place he 
asks, "What mighty power do we ascribe to God, if we say 
that He made the world out of subject-matter ? An artisan, if 
materials are given him, makes what he chooses. But the 
power of God is displayed in this — that He makes what He 
chooses out of nothing." * He afterwards says that, according 
to the scriptural representation, God made the world out of 
matter which had been produced by Him.^ 

^ Legatio^ p. 5 B. So p. 23 A. X-Affoixiv Ixv-rov: iTony.ov T>)v vXyiV rhv 
<p6ot,pryiv KBi) pivCTYiv x.u) ^;t«/3X»5T^v tw ayiw/irco, ko.) ct-tdtco, ica,) otw^avro; 

ffvfKpMvtk) -Troiovvri? ®iw. We will pass over that. " Matter which is cor- 
ruptible, fluctuating, and changeable, is held in equal honour with the 
Unbegotten, eternal God, who always works consistently." 

2 ii Ti onffTcia-iv {vXvi xoc) Qios) •zaf/.ToXv a^' aXX'^kav, kcc) TO(rou'rov oirov 

Ti^VITriS KO,] h "Tpo; T>)V Tl^V'/IV CCVTOV Tro.pctlT-H.lV'n X«' h TXv'Si^h; vXyj CtViV TOV 

&iov rod onfMovpyov oiKKpitrtv xa) a^yj/xa x,c/a Kotry-ov ovk iXa,y,(!)aviv. "But if 
they (matter and God) differ wholly from each other, not only in their 
Creator, but in the manner of their creation, and the all-embracing matter 
did not receive individuality, and form, and shape, without God the 
Creator." P. 14 D. Beausobre justly remarks that this passage is not 
irreconcileable to a belief in the eternity of matter. L. 5, c. 5. 

'^ L. i. p. 72 A. Compare p. 75 A. L. ii. pp. 88 B, 92 B. 

■* t/ 01 fj(,iya, u o ©soj s§ ii'/foKUf/Avyis vXvi; Itoiu tov Kocrf^ov ; x,cc) yap Ti^virr,s 
Kv^puTos, I'Pfocv vXr,v Xdfh'A etTo rivo;, l| ayrjjj oV« (iovXtrcci "ttoisi. @iou oi n 
dvv(tfi,ii Iv Tovroo (peivipovToHf 'iva If ovk ovtuv 'Pfotri offot, fiovXiTCH, L. ii. 

p. 82 c. 

TCcvTcc Iv TpuTOt; QiOa.axu n ^s/a ypu.(^Yt TpoTtu Tiv) tiXriv yiv/iTyiv uto tov Qiou 
ytyovviUVf a,(p^ ^; vi'^or/iKi kcc] ^i^yifjt,tovpyr,xiv o 0=o; tov KOfffiov, p. 89 A. 



Writings of Justin Martyr. 127 

P. 46, note 4. The word otKovofxta is used by Tatian, but 
not with any reference to the gospel dispensation. In a 
passage quoted in note 6, p. 116, he says that whatever is 
only divided takes its part in the economy, otKoi/o/xta^ rrjv 
aip€cnv TrpocrXa^ov. In another place he speaks of those 
who trust to the economy of matter, v\y]<; olKovofxta, meaning 
those who ascribe the cure of diseases to combinations of 
matter ; ^ and when he is ridiculing the astrologers, he calls 
the constellations the dispensers of fate, ri}? €t/>iap/>teVry§ oIko- 
vojJLov;.^ 

Athenagoras uses the word in a sense which bears a nearer 
resemblance to that in which I have supposed Justin to use 
it. Speaking of the assumption of the human form by the 
heathen deities, he says, " Although God assumed the flesh 
according to the heavenly economy, yet it is a slave to 
lusts." ^ 

Theophilus, speaking of earthly monarchs, says that " they 
are not made to be worshipped, but to receive appropriate 
honour ; for they are not gods, but men appointed by God, 
not to be worshipped, but to give righteous judgments, — for 
they are in a manner entrusted with an administration by 
God." * He says, on another occasion, that no person is able 

^ P. 157 B. In p. 151 B, Tatian speaks of the human body as being 
fAias oixovof/.ici;, "of One economy ; " and shortly after we find hroffftuv 
ot»ovoju,ia, " the economy of the inwards," and xar' otx,ovof/.iae,y o-vfi^avia,?, 
"unison according to economy." Speaking of those writers who turned 
the heathen mythology and the Iliad into allegory, he says that they 
introduced the Greeks and barbarians as contending x^P'^ otxavof^tx^, " for 
the sake of economy," p. i6o B. 

2 Pp. 149 B, 150 A. ^ Legatio, p. 21 D. 

^ 'on ovx. u; to 'TtfotrKWiiffSai yiyoviv, aXXa us to Ti/nciff^cci rJj vof^ifiM Tt/u-ri. 
©jflj yap ouK iffTiv, oiXXa, civSfUTto; v^o &iou Tiray/Aivos, ovx us to ^poffKVVtTa-^ai, 
akXei u; to '^ix.xicos xpivuv TfiO'TM yap rivt <xapa &iov oixovofiiav 'TiTio'TiuTai, 

L. i. p. 76 D. 



128 Some Account of the 

worthily to explain the whole economy of the six days of 
creation.^ He says also that the disposition of the stars in the 
work of creation contains the economy and order of just and 
pious men, who observe the commandments of God ;2 and in 
alluding to the narrative in Scripture respecting Cain and 
Abel, he talks of the economy of the narrative, r^v olKovoixtav 

P. 48. Tatian gives the title of God to Christ, and calls 
Him, in one instance, the God Who suffered ; * in another, 
God Who appeared in the form of man.^ 

Athenagoras also gives the title of God to the Son ; ^ and 
Theophilus, referring to John i. i, says expressly that the Word 
is God.7 

P. 52. Bull, speaking of the TTcpix<^p'qo-i<^, or circumin- 
cession of the three Persons in the Trinity,^ says " that some 
of the ancients also ascribe a 7rcpi;^cop7;o-ts to the two natures in 
Christ ; but that in so doing they do not speak accurately. 
For since Tr€pLX(^p7}(n<s, in its strict sense, is the union of things 
entering in all respects into each other (which is signified by 
the preposition Trepl), irr order to justify the use of the term, no 

i L. ii. p. 91 B. 2 p ^4 D 3 p, 105 B. 

* He is speaking of the Holy Spirit, Whom he calls rov ^ixxovov rov ^i-rov- 
60TOS Qiou, " the Minister of the suffering God," p. 153 A. 

s @iov iv a.v$pu<rou /^op(p^ yiyovUxi xarciyyiXXovris, "proclaiming that God 
appeared in the form of man," p. 159 C. In another passage he calls 
upon the heathen to renounce the demons, and to follow the only God, to 
Whom he applies what St. John (i. 3) says of the Aiyo; ; " All things were 
made by Him, and without Him was not any thing made," aXka. Tapxtrti- 
ffafiivoi Tovi oecifiova; @im ru fiovco xaTOixoXov^^^trxri- Toivroi vtt ahnroVy kou ^up)s 
ecurou yiyoviv ov^i sv, p. 1^8 D. 

•5 See the first passage quoted in p. 113. 

^ 0£O5 ovv uv Aoyos xou Ix @iov m^vKu?^ L. ii. p. 100 C. 

^ Def. Fid. Nic. sect. iv. c. 4. 



W7Htings of Jttstin Martyr. 129 

one of the things so united should be without or beyond the 
other ; but wheresoever one of them is, there the other should 
also be. But in Christ, though the divine nature enters in 
every respect into the human, the human does not in turn 
enter into the divine ; for the human is finite and limited,— 
the divine infinite and unlimited ; so that the human cannot 
be wheresoever the divine is." There is, in other words, a 
perfect 7reptx(o/D>;o-65 of persons in the divine nature, but not a 
perfect Treptx^P^o-tg of natures in the person of Christ. Still, 
according to Bull's view, Justin is correct in saying that the 
divine nature pervaded, or perfectly entered into the human. 

Justin puts into the mouth of the old man who converted 
him to Christianity, the following question : " What, then, is 
our relationship to God ? Is the soul divine, and immortal, 
and a part of that royal intelligence ? avrov Ikuvov rov jSaaiXiKov 
vov fxepos/' Dial. p. 22 1 E. So Tatian, p. 146 C, says that man 
obtains immortahty by partaking of a portion of God. ©eov 
fxoLpav. See Beausobre, lib. 6, c. 5. 

That partial insight into the truth, which the Gentile poets 
and philosophers possessed, and which, according to Justin, 
they obtained through their participation in the Aoyo?, is 
traced by Athenagoras to what he terms their " sympathy with 
the breath of God." TvoirjraX filv yap koI (faXocrocfiOL, COS Kol rots 
aXXois iire/SaXov o-ro;i(acrTt/cco9, Kivrj6evTC<i [xkv, Kara (rvjxTrdOeLav 
Tr]s irapa rov 0€ou ttvo^s, vtto ttJs (a^Tos) avTOv ij/v)(7]^ €KaaTo<; 
t,y]Tr}crai, el Swaros evpecv koX vorja-ai ttjv dXrjOeLav' toctovtov 8e 
Svv7]0ivT€<5 ocrov TrepLvorja-ai, ovx evpyjVTat ov (f. 0€w) ov irapa 
©eoO a^twcraj/res /JLaOeiv, dXXa Trap' avrov e/cao-ros. Legatio^ 
p. 7 D. 

P. 53. We have seen ^ that Athenagoras calls the Holy 
Spirit an emanation from God, flowing forth and reflected like 

^ Leg. p. 10 D, quoted in note 2, p. 120. 
E 



130 Some Account of the 

a ray of the sun. In another place he says that the Holy 
Spirit is an emanation, as light from a fire.^ Justin, on the 
contrary, in speaking of the generation of the Son, expressly 
censures those who compared it to the emission of a ray from 
the sun, and uses the illustration of a fire Hghted from 
another fire.^ We have here another instance of the difficulty 
of bringing forward, on this mysterious subject, any illustration 
to which an objection may not be made. Justin's illustration 
better conveys the notion of a distinction of persons ; that of 
Athenagoras, the notion of an unity of substance. But they 
who are disposed to raise cavils will say that the former tends 
to Tritheism ; the latter to Sabellianism. 

I have observed that Theophilus speaks explicitly of a 
Trinity ; ^ and, as it should seem, of a real Trinity — a Trinity 
of Persons. Yet we find him speaking of the Spirit of God as 
surrounded or confined by the hand of God ; * and saying 
that the Spirit of God, Which moved on the face of the 
waters in the work of creation, was given by God in order to 
vivify it, as the soul is given to man.^ Justin, as we have seen,^ 
supposed the Spirit of God, in the first chapter of Genesis, to 
be the Holy Spirit, — an apphcation of the passage to which 
Theophilus appears to have been a stranger. 

P. 55. The opinion of Athenagoras respecting the in- 

^ x«) aToppoiCt, a; (puj ocvo ^vpo;, to ^viv/!/.et. Leg, p. 27 A. 

- See p. 50. ^ See p. 114. 

* ovTWi h Toi(rcc xritni "^ipti^^irai vTo <ffvivfJt,tx,70i ®iov, xa] to Tvivy.a to 
<ripiix,°v trhv t55 xTia-ti Tspii^zTas v^o ^iipos 0£oy, L. i. p. 72 C. 

5 <7Cvivy.u. Ti TO iTi(f)tpo/:^ivov Ittccvco tou SdccTOSy 'iduxiv %ioi u; ^uoyovriffiv tyi 
xTitru, xaioL-TTip a,v6pu-7ru -^v^nv, L. ii. p. 92 C. Compare p. 74 A. 6iy-i- 
Xtuffoci Ttiv yriv Itt) tuv v^ktcov, xk) oov; <7rviVf^oi, to Tpi<pov uvTm' ov vt fvon 
l^uoyovu TO 'TTo.v. In p. no B, Theophilus calls God Tpo^ioc 'Tfi.aini -rvoyis. 
<rnvf/,a QioZ in p. 78 D, corresponds to to Tviuf^oe. to e/yiov, "the Holy 
Spirit," in p. 106 C. 

6 See p. 41. 



Writings of Justin Martyr. 1 3 1 

spiration of the prophets, was that the Spirit from God moved 
their mouths like instruments ; 1 or, as he expresses himself in 
another place, that the Spirit made use of the prophet as a 
player on the pipe does of the pipe.^ 

The language of Theophilus on this subject differs not 
widely from that of Athenagoras. He speaks of the prophets 
as inspired by the Holy Spirit, or by God Himself ;3 so that, 
being holy and just, they were deemed worthy to be made the 
instruments of God, and to partake of His wisdom.^ 

^X"/^-" T^poip'/irecs fiaprvpa.?, o'i Tvivf/,a,Tt Iv^iw iK'^n^uv'/iKa.ffi ko.) Tipli rod &iou 
KO.) 'Tipi TMV Tciu @iov, u'-roiTi V civ KcCi vfAiis, ffvviffii xu,] Tri Tip} TO ovTOj; h7ov 
ivffifhiiK Tovs aXXov; -^rpov^ovTis, u? 'iffriv aXoyov, TocpocXtTovTO,; TiffTivuv rZ Tctpce. 
Tov Siov -rviVficcri, us opyuvce. xsx.ivy,KOTt rot, ruv 'n.po(pYiruv tir'o[j(.a,ro!,, -Trpoffi^'^iv 
%'olce.i{ iv^pu-rtvcn?. Legatio^ p. 8 A. Tatian's description of the prophetic 
writings, p. 165 B, deserves attention. 

" Ka,t ruv XofTcuv Tpoipn^rMv, 01 x,a.r 'iKarocinv ruv Iv avroT; Xo'yiir//.cuv, xtv^ffctvro; 
ctvrous rov hiov 7rviu/u,aro;, cchnpyovvro i^Kpuiv'/jffccv' a-vy^pno'c&^ivou rov •TtviVfJi.ot.roi, 
utru xec) alXnrris otlxov, ly,Tvivtroii, p. 9 D. Here Athenagoras says that the 
prophets spoke »eir ina-rcca-iv, in a state of rapture or ecstasy. On this 
point he agreed with Montanus, though I see no reason for suspecting, with 
Tillemont, that he ever attached himself to the Montanists. See the 
Preface of the Benedictine editors, part iii. c. 14. Justin, speaking of the 

prophet Zechariah, says, rovrov ^l colrov olx. Iv rr dToKOcXv-^n oclrou iMpatcii 
Tpo(prir'/is, cua'Tip ovos rov dixfioAov ko.) rov rod Kupiou ciyytXov oIk cchro'^iot,, Iv 
xoi.ret.ffroe.a'U euv, iMpo(.Kii, ocXX iv iKaraffii oi'ToxocXvypta; oclrS yiyiv'/jf^t-iv'/n. 
Dial. p. 343 A, quoted in p. 56, note I. The difference between the two 
representations seems to be that, according to Justin, the prophet was in a 
state of rapture when he saw the vision which he recorded : according to 
Athenagoras, when he dehvered or wrote the prophecy, 

3 L. i. p. 78 D ; 1. ii. pp. 106 C, no A, in C, 128 B. See also 
p. 88 C, quoted in p. 123, note i, and %Z D. MiwirJj? 1\ — (jmXXov 1\ x'oyo; 
rov Osov, us ^i opydvov, h' avrov (fitio-tv, ** For Moses spoke — or rather the 
word of God through him as by an instrument." In these passages the in- 
spiration of the prophets is attributed to the koyos. Tcivris ol Tviv[Aa.ro(p'opoi, 
" All they who were inspired," p. 100 C. L. iii. p. 125 A. 

ol oi rov Qiov Siv^pwroi, '^rviv/u.os.roipopot -rvivficcros ocytov scoci <^po<p^ra,i yivo/mvoi, 
iiT^ civrov rod @iov i/u.'ZViva'^ivris x,a] (ro<pio'0ivris, iyivovro hoVi%cx,x.rot ko.) ortot KOt,) 
dixutoi, oto KO.) K0i,rYi^iu6viffBt,v rviv uvTifAiff^leiv roivryiv XetfosTv, opyavu Biou yivo' 



132 Some Account of the 

The account of the prophets given by Justin, or rather by 
the old man who converted him to Christianity, is that " long 
before all those who are deemed philosophers, lived blessed 
and just men, lovers of God, who spake by the Holy Spirit, 
and foretold future things, which are now happening. They 
are called prophets. They alone saw the truth, and told it to 
men ; neither respecting nor fearing any one, nor influenced 
by the love of glory, but speaking those things only which 
they heard and saw, being filled with the Holy Spirit." ^ 

The author of the Hortatory Address to the Greeks says 
that " it was only necessary for the prophets to surrender them- 
selves entirely to the operation of the Divine Spirit ; that the 
divine quill descending from heaven, and using the instru- 
mentality of just men, as of a harp or lyre, should reveal to 
us the knowledge of divine and heavenly things." ^ 

P. 56. Tatian gives the following account of the creation 
and fall of angels and men.^ " The heavenly Aoyo?, being a 
Spirit from the Father, and the Aoyos from the rational power, 
in imitation of the Father Who begat Him, made man the 
image of immortality; that, as incorruption is wath God, so 
man, partaking of a portion of God, might also have im- 
mortality. The Aoyos, before the creation of man, was the 

(jk'.toi, Koc) ^copyitTocvri; <ro(p'tix,v t'/jv -rap al/rou, ^/ >)? ffotp'oc; li-zov ku.) to. -npt ty,: 
KTtffius nrov x'o(Tfji.ov kou ruv Xoicruv ocpruvTMV, L, ii. p. 87 D. 

^ iyivovTO Tivi; 'Tfpo 'ffoX'kov ^povov vtUvreov tovtuv tuv vof/,i'^of/,'ivuv ^iXoiro<puv 
TccXecioTipoi, f/,ctKeipiot, k«) oiKCiitu, Ko) hoipiXiTs, h'lu "TTviviMirt 7-uXYi(T(X.vris, xai to, 
/nik^ovrec (ktv'ktccvti:, a. o-/i vvv yiyviTCCr Tpo(pri'ras %\ alrov? x,a,Xov(nv' ovTot //.ovoi 
TO iXnfi; KO.) udov KO.) i^sT-PTov ocvSpufoi?, ii'n'T ivXccfi'/i^'ivrs; fivn ^vtrwrrifivra 
TivK, /bcri firrny-ivoi 'ho^yj;, aXXoc /jt-'ova, voZto, tiTovng a f^KoviTKv ko.) a, u^ov, uyiw 
-rXv^pufi'iyiTii 'rviv/jia.ri. Dial, p. 224 D. 

aXXa, Kccfupou; icturov; tJi tou hiou fvivfji.a.roi 'ffa.ptx.tr^ih ivipyiict, Vv' euro 
TO hTov i£, ohpavov koctiov -TrXYDirpov, axr^rip opyavu xi^upac; rivos r, Xvpu;, rot; 
iiKaiois uv'^pecff'i ^pu/Aivovy rhv tuv hiwv rifi7v kou ovpccvtcov KToxccXi^ri yjuffiv, 

p. 9 B. 
' P. 146 15. 



Writings of J test in Martyr. 133 

Creator of angels. Each species was created free, not being 
good in its own nature, which is the property of God alone ; 
but capable, in the case of man, of perfection through freedom 
of choice, — so that the wicked might be justly punished, being 
wicked through their own fault ; and the good might be justly 
praised on account of their good deeds, — not having, in the 
exercise of their freedom, transgressed the will of God. Such 
was the case w^ith respect to angels and men." 

" But the power of the Word, possessing within Himself a 
prescience of futurity, not by any fatal necessity, but by (fore- 
seeing) the determination of those who were free to choose, 
predicted future events ; restraining men from wickedness by 
prohibitions, and praising those who persevered in goodness. 
And when men followed one who, on account of the priority 
of his birth, was more subtle than the rest, and set him up as 
God, though he opposed himself to the law of God, the power 
of the Word excluded both the author of this madness and 
all his followers from intercourse with Himself. And he 
who was made in the image of God, the more powerful Spirit 
being withdrawn from him, became mortal ; and the first-born 
angel, through his transgression and ignorance, was manifested 
as a demon; and they who imitated his phantasms became 
aVost of demons, and through (the abuse of) their freedom 
were delivered over to their own folly." He then proceeds 
to say that the demons introduced the doctrine of fate, and 
connected it with astrology. 

In order that we may understand what Tatian means by 
the withdrawing of the more powerful Spirit, we must turn to 
another passage,^ in which he says, " We recognise two different 

1 P. 150 D. Tatian, on one occasion, says that " God is a Spirit ; not 
the spirit pervading matter, but the preparer of the spirits in matter and 
of its forms," p. 144 C; in another, that "the spirit pervading matter is 
inferior to the diviner Spirit," p. 144 D- Compare what is said in my 



134 Some Account of the 

spirits — one, which is called the soul ; the other, greater than 
the soul, the image and likeness of God. Both those spirits 
were united in the first men (di/^pwTrots rots Trpwrots), so that in 
one respect they were material ; in another, superior to matter." 
He then goes on to say, that the universe is material ; and 
though its parts differ, according to their different degrees of 
beauty, yet the whole is pervaded by a material spirit. There 
is a spirit in the stars, in angels, in plants and water, in men, 
in animals, which, though one and the same, is thus variously 
modified.^ As, then, the soul partakes of this material spirit, 
it is not immortal in its own nature, but mortal. It may, 
however, not die. It dies, and is dissolved with the body, 
when it knows not the truth ; again, it does not die, although 
it is dissolved for a time, when it has acquired the knowledge 
of God. "The soul, therefore," Tatian proceeds,^ "did not 
save the spirit, but was saved by it ; and the light compre- 
hended the darkness. The Word is the light of God; and 

work on Clement of Alexandria, respecting the principal and subject 
spirit, p. 225. To those who are devoid of the Spirit, Tatian gives the 
title of -^^vxiKoi, p. 154 C. See p. 155 B. 

^ P. 152 A. The soul is called ^oXvf^^tpvs, "consisting of many parts," 
p. 153 B. 

^ P. 152 C. leaf luvThv yap (Tkoto; IctIv (^ ypv^h) x«i ouolv Iv kIt^ 
(pctiTiivov. xk; rovr'o Iffriv oipa to iip'/',f/,ivoy, 'A tx-otiu. to (poo; ov »aTCcXoe.f/,[ictvu. 
\}/v^h yap ovx. avTV) to <7rvivfjt,a 'iffaxTiv, Xtru^n os v'tt avTov, x,a) to <pu; ttjv 
cncoTiav xaTikafosv, o Xoyo; f^iv Ictti to tov @iou (pus, ffx.0To; 01 vi aviTKTT'^fjt-ojv 
•^v^"^. ^la, TovTo fiov'/j (ttev ^laiTuf^ivti ^pog T>jv uXjjv viVii KaTu, ffwa-ffohriff- 
Kovffa tIt, ffapy/t. ffvZ,vy'tav %i xiXTny-ivv) tviv tov hiov 'jrvivfJt.aTOi ovk i(rTiv 
a(30^^-/}Tos' uvip^iTai Ti ^pos a-TTip avTYiv odyiysT ^a>pia to <x\ivfji,a. tov (liv 
yap \(fTii a\w to oiK'/]T!^piov. Tiis ^i KaTcofiv IffTiv h yiviiri?' (See p. 151 A, 
u; thai xoivhv ToivToov yivsiTiv.) yiyovi f/,\v ovv ffvvoiaiTov ap^^ihv to <gvivy.a Tn 

•v/zy^J}' TO 1\ 'TTViVy.a TUVTm 'i-TTiff^ai fJlZ/l (iovXo//,iv>}V CCVTU xxTukikoi^iv, h ^s 

uff'TCip 'i\av(Tf/.a Tru dvvdf/.ict); avTov x,iKT7)fji.'ivyi x,a) oia tov p^wptfffiov to, TtXiia 
xa^opav fm ^vtafjbivn^ Z,Y,Tov(ra tov ©sav, xaTa <vXot,vyiv rroXXov? 6iovi aviTv^uin, 
ToTs avTieroipio'Tivovffi ^atf^offi KKTaxo'kovSrtiTaffa. <7fviv[Jia ^s tov ®iov •Tftt.pa, VKtriv 
(Mtv ovK iffTi' "Tfapa oi tkti tc7; ^iKaioo; ToXiTivof^ivois xaTayo/u.ivov, xa) ffv/^Tki- 
Kofji-ivov Tjj '^v^^, oia 'prpoayopivo'iuv Ta7s Xo/TTaii '4^v^ais to KiKpvfx,f/,ivov 
av^yytiXt, xa) al f/,\v TuSoy-ivat ffo^iet ff(pia'iv uutuTs i^iiXxovro tviv/uei trvyyivi;. 



Writings of Jttstin Ma7-tyr. 135 

the ignorant soul, darkness. On which account, when it is 
alone, it bends downwards towards matter, dying together with 
the flesh. But having obtained an union with the Divine 
Spirit, it is no longer destitute of aid, but ascends to the 
places to which the Spirit conducts it. For the dwelling- 
place of the Spirit is above ; the origin of the soul from below. 
In the beginning, then, the Spirit dwelt with the soul, but 
quitted it, because it refused to follow the Spirit. But the 

Beausobre has given the following translation of this passage, Histoire 
du Manicheisme, 1. 4, c. 3 :— '' L'ame de sa nature," dit Tatien, " n'est 
que tenebres, et n'a rien de la lumiere. De la ce mot de I'Ecriture, Les 
tenures nynbrassmt point la liimih-e, car 1 'Esprit n'est pas sauve' par 
I'ame, mais c'est lui qui sauve I'ame, et c'est la lumiere qui embrasse les 
tenebres. La Raison est la lumiere de Dieu : les tenebres sont une ame 
qui est dans I'ignorance. C'est pourquoi quand elle est seule, elle 
s'abaisse aux choses materielles, et meurt avec la chair. Mais quand elle 
est unie avec I'Esprit elle monte au lieu ou elle est conduite par I'Esprit. 
En effet, le siege de I'Esprit est le Ciel, mais le siege de I'ame est la 
nature materielle " (in the original, rTi-, Tt }ca.Tu6iv limv h yUi<r,?. Beausobre 
defends his translation by a reference to Jas. iii. 6, x.cc) <pXoylZ,ovffa Wv 
rpoxov r^s yiv'tffico?, ''and setteth on fire the course of nature." But 
yUiffis seems rather to mean in this place nature, as rendered in our 
version. See Grotius in loco, and rh -raXociav yUiffiv, p. 150 D). "Au 
commencement, I'Esprit etoit familierement uni avec I'ame, et vivoit, 
nour ainsi dire, avec elle : mais n'ayant pas voulu suivre les lumieres de 
lii^sprit, il la laissa. Cependant, elle conserva encore comme une etincelle 
de feu cache sous la cendre ; mais a cause de la separation de I'Esprit, 
elle n'a pas la force d'appercevoir les choses parfaites. En cherchant 
Dieu, elle s'est egaree, et en a imagine plusieurs, seduite par la fraude 
des Demons." Beausobre's comment on the passage is, " L'ame est done 
I'ouvrage du Createur : I'Esprit est un don de Dieu. Voila les dififerens 
genres, ou les difFerentes natures de Basilide. Le Createur ne connoissoit 
que la premiere, et ne commenga a savoir, qu'il y en a une plus excellente 
et plus parfaite, que lorsque I'Esprit descendit sur Jesus." In my work 
on Clement of Alexandria, p. 272, note i, I have said, with reference to 
this comment, that Beausobre appears to put interpretations on some of 
the expressions which the words will not bear. On further consideration, 
I do not change my opinion. 



136 Some Accoimt of the 

soul, retaining some spark, as it were, of the power of the 
Spirit, being unable, through its separation from the Spirit, to 
see that which is perfect, erring in its search after God, figured 
to itself many gods, following the fraudulent devices of the 
demons. But the Spirit of God is not with all ; sojourning 
only with some who lived righteous lives, and united with 
their souls, It declared, by means of predictions, secret things 
to other souls ; some of them obeying wisdom, drew down to 
themselves a kindred spirit ; ^ while those which did not obey, 
but rejected the Minister of God Who suffered, proved rather 
adversaries than worshippers of God." 

" It is, then," he afterwards says,^ " our business to recover 
that which we have lost, and to unite the soul to the Holy 
Spirit, and earnestly to aim at an union with God." After 
some other further remarks on the soul of man, Tatian pro- 
ceeds : " Man alone is the image and likeness of God;^ that 
man, I mean, who does not live like animals, but, raised far 
above humanity, draws near to God Himself. The point to 
which I must now address myself is, to explain of what kind 
the image and likeness of God is. That which admits not 
of comparison is nothing but the Self-existent itself; that which 
is compared to the Self-existent is different from it, but like to 
it. The perfect God is without flesh, but man is flesh. The 
soul is the bond of the flesh, and the flesh holds together the 
soul. Such is the form of the constitution (of man) if God 
chooses to dwell in it by His ambassador, the Spirit, that it 
may be His temple.* But if it is not so, man excels the beasts 
only in uttering articulate sounds ; in all other respects he is 

' As Tatian here speaks of a kindred spirit, so p. 145 D, he talks of a 
kindred matter. 

2 P. 153 D. 

^ We have seen that in the passage quoted in p. 133, Tatian calls the 
more powerful Spirit the image and likeness of God. 
* J;a rou Tpurfiivovro; 'Tviv/xtx.ro?, p. 1 54 B. 



Writings of Justin Martyr. 



137 



of the same conversation as they, being no longer the hkeness 
of God." 

In another place 1 Tatian says, that "the perfect Spirit is, so 
to speak, the wings of the soul, which the soul casting off 
through sin, fluttered like a newly-fledged bird, and fell to the 
ground. Passing from its heavenly society, it longed for an 
intercourse with inferior things. The demons quitted their 
original abode : the first created human beings were driven 
out. The former were expelled from heaven ; the latter from 
earth, not this earth, but one better than this. It is our duty, 
then, henceforward to aspire to our ancient state, and to cast 
down every obstacle which impedes our progress." And again : 2 
"We have learned that, of which we were ignorant, through 
the prophets, who, being persuaded that the spirit together 
with the soul will receive immortality— the heavenly covering 
of mortahty— foretold things which other souls knew not ; 
and it is possible for every one that is naked to obtain this 
covering, and to return to his ancient kindred." 

Tatian is particularly careful to guard against the notion 
that man fell by any fatal necessity. " We were not created,' 
he says, "to die; but we die through our own fault.^ Qur 

1 P. 158 D. 

^P. 159 B. The meaning ot this passage is not very clear, oinMi «>« 
, -n ■4'VZ^ ^rfrutrf^ivoi on 9rvivficc. to ovpdviov l-7fivtvf/.a, r^; hnroTviTo;, rh 
a.6a.vccff'ta.v, mx.ryKnra,i. The Benedictine editors wish to substitute o-^^« 
for -TrnZf^u.. Tatian says in another place, "Men, after the loss of im- 
mortality, have vanquished death by dying (to the world) through faith ; 
and a calling has been given to them through repentance, according to 
the words of Scripture, ' T/iey -were made a Utile lower than the angels ' 
(Ps. viii. 5). It is possible for the vanquished to vanquish in turn, by 
renouncing the condition of death ; and what that is, they who wish for 
immortality may easily see," p. 154 D. See also p. 155 C, eufa.x.1 Tvivy.oc.ro; 
l-rovpciviou xa^u^^ifffiivos, " The heavenly Spirit arming itself with a 
breastplate." 

^P. 150 D. 



138 Some Account of the 

freedom has destroyed us. When we were free, we became 
slaves : we were sold through sin. Nothing evil was made by 
God : we brought forth wickedness ; and they who brought it 
forth are able in turn to renounce it." In another passage he 
says that " the sin of man was the cause of evil in the natural 
world."! 

The inference from these different passages seems to be 
that, according to Tatian, in man were originally united a spirit 
and a soul ; the former of purely celestial origin, the latter 
material ; or, to speak perhaps more accurately, a portion of 
that inferior spirit which pervades matter.^ Man being, with 
reference to this material soul, peccable, abused the freedom 
with which he was endowed, and listening to the suggestions 
of wicked demons, refused to follow the guidance of the 
heavenly Spirit, Which in consequence quitted him. Thus 
deserted by the Divine Spirit, he became mortal ; and by his 
sin all evil, moral and natural, was introduced into the world. 
As, however, he fell by the abuse of his freedom, so by the 
right use of it he may rise again, and reunite himself to the 
heavenly Spirit, and thus replace himself in his original state 
of innocence and happiness. It must be confessed that this 
account of the original state, and of the fall of man, savours 
more of the spirit of Gentile philosophy than of Scripture ; yet 
m one respect it differs not greatly from that scheme, which 
assigns as the cause of the fall, that God withdrew the special 
influences of His presence from our first parents. 

I find in Athenagoras little that has any direct bearing on 
these subjects. On one occasion he is censuring those who 

^ P. 158 D. 

'^ See the passage p. 144 D, quoted in p, 133, note i. Tatian speaks 
of the evaporation of this material spirit, when the flesh is annihilated 
by fire, p. 146 A. kkv -rup £^«(pav<V>j to (rdpKiov, i^arfiiff^iiirciv rhv t/'X'/jv xoa-fioi 
Ki^uptjxiv. 



Writings of Jtistin Martyr. 139 

thought that they sufficiently established the truth of a future 
resurrection, by saying that it was necessary to the final 
judgment of mankind.* "This argument," he says, "is 
clearly shown to be inconclusive by the fact that, although all 
rise again, all do not rise to judgment. For if to answer the 
ends of justice is the sole cause of the resurrection, then they, 
who have neither done good nor evil, that is, very young 
children, need not rise." Here the future condemnation of 
man is made to depend entirely on the commission of actual, 
sin. In another place ^ he says that " man, according to the 
design of his Maker, pursues a regular course with reference to 
his nature by birth, which is common to all ; and the disposi- 
tion of his members, which does not transgress its peculiar 
law ; and the end of life, which is the same to all ; but, accord- 
ing to the determinations of his own reason, and the operation 
of the ruler who has obtained dominion over him, and of the 
attendant demons, he is carried in different directions ; although 
the power of reasoning is common to all." The ruler to 
whom Athenagoras here alludes is a power or spirit,^ who is 
conversant with and pervades matter, and being opposed to 
God, induced man to abuse the freedom with which he was 
endowed, and led him into transgression. On the subject of 
the Divine Providence, Athenagoras says,* that "they who 

De Mori. Res. p. 55 D. Athenagoras says that the soul is immortal. 
f -eg. p. 30 D. 

"^ Legatio, p. 29 A. 

^ P. 27 A, D. Athenagoras speaks of a material spirit. Legatio, 
pp. 30 C, 27 B. 

on oil rov; Tor/i-rhv rov hov rovdi roZ '^ra.v-ro; ^eipcc^-^a.ju.svt)v; tJJ rovrov (ro(piM 
KU.) oiKUtoffw^ rhv Tuv yivofiiVMV uTciiircov aveiri^tvui (puXKKvv n koc) toovoiuv, 
I'lyi roAi Idixi; up^uT; Tetpxf/.ivnv \6iXoiiv' tocZtoc §j -Trip) tovtuv (ppovouv-ra.; ^jj^sv 
nyuff$cx,t [/.Yin tujv kutu. q/j^v fA'/;ri ruv Kar ovpxvov avi^iTpoTiurov f^^T aTpovoriTov, 
arXX iTi Tccv a,(puvi; ojuoim; siou (pcttvofjcivov, fzixpov n xa.) f^sT^ov, "^irixouffocv yiyvaxr- 
Kitv mv 'Tocpoc Tou TOiYKTOivro? iTiy-iXiiMv. ^UTeti yap Teivrx to. yivoy-iva, rii; 
Tapa Tov TToi^ffavros I'^ny.iXuK;' loiu; Ti %x.a.(rrov h.oc$^ <ri<pu}ii na.) Tpo; 
9riipvKiv. De Mort. Res. p. 60 B. 



140 Some Account of t lie 

admit God to be the Creator of the universe must, if they 
mean to abide by their own principles, refer the custody and 
providence over all things to His wisdom and justice. Under 
this persuasion they must think that everything, both in earth 
and heaven, is directed and governed by Providence ; and that 
the care of the Creator extends to all things alike, whether 
unseen or seen, whether small or great. For all created 
things in ge?ieral stand in need of the care of the Creator ; and 
each in pariicidar according to its nature and the end for 
which it was created." He asserts the same doctrine in 
another place ; ^ although, like Justin, he ascribes to God a 
general superintendence over the universe, and says that the 
angels were appointed to watch over the different parts. 

Theophilus,^ speaking of wild beasts and noxious animals, 
affirms that " nothing evil proceeded from God : all things 
were originally good, very good. But man by his transgression 
affected other living things with evil ; for when he transgressed, 
they transgressed with him. — When, however, man shall 
return to his original state, and cease to do evil, they also shall 
return to their original gentleness." A considerable portion of 
the second book consists of a comment on the account of the 
creation given in the book of Genesis. Speaking of the 
creation of man, Theophilus alleges,^ as a proof of his superior 
dignity, that, whereas God created all other things by a word. 
He considered the creation of man a work worthy of His own 
hands ; and as if He even stood in need of assistance, said to 
His Word and Wisdom, " Let us make man," etc. Man 
after his creation was placed in Paradise,* the means of im- 



^ LegatiOf pp. 29 A, 27 C. 
2 L. ii. p. 96 B. 



' P. 96 C. There is a description of Paradise, p. 97 D. Sec also 
p. 10 1 B. 

* P. lOi D. Theophilus says that Adam was rot forbidden to eat of 
the fruit of the tree of life. He repeats his notion respecting this inter- 



Writings of J2istin Martyr. 141 

provement being afforded him, so that he might go on to 
perfection ; and being at length declared a god, might ascend 
into heaven. 1 For he was created in a sort of intermediate 
state ; neither wholly mortal, nor wholly immortal, but capable 
of both conditions. Adam was forbidden to eat of the fruit of 
the tree of knowledge, because, being yet in a state of infancy, 
he could not worthily receive knowledge.^ Some appear to have 
thought that the fruit of the tree of knowledge was evil in 
itself, and therefore productive of death. This Theophilus 
denies, and says that knowledge is in itself good. " It was 
not, therefore, the fruit of the tree which brought pain, and 
sorrow, and death into the world, but Adam's disobedience. 
God, however, when He cast our first parents out of Paradise, 
determined in His mercy that they should not continue for 
ever in sin ; but having been punished by banishment, and 
disciplined for an appointed time, should be restored to 
Paradise. This restoration will take place after the resurrec- 
tion. For as an earthen vessel which has a flaw is broken up 
and formed anew, by the potter, that it may be sound and 
perfect, so man is broken to pieces by the power of death, 
that he may be rendered soimd in the resurrection ; that is to 
say, without spot, just and immortal." In conformity to this 

mediate state of man in p. 103 C. " If God had created man immortal, 
He would have made him a god ; if mortal, God would have appeared to 
be the author of his death. Man was therefore made capable of both 
conditions : that, keeping the commandment of God, he might receive 
immortality as a reward, and become a god ; or, disobeying God, might 
be the author to himself of death," Theophilus says that the majority 
deemed the soul immortal, because God breathed the breath of life into 
Adam's nostrils, p. 97 C. 

^ s't< Ti Ku.\ S'M a.<ia!hux,^iU. Justin uses the expression, tsXs/a/ y-voi^'ivu, 
" having become perfect. " Dial, p. 225 D. Man is called v'Ka.irfA.u. ku.) 
iixuv &SOU, "a figure and image of God." L. i. p. 72 A. 

2 P. 102 A. The Benedictine editors employ a chapter of their Preface 
in proving that Theophilus, when he calls Adam an infant, speaks 
metaphorically. 



142 So7ne Account of the 

view of Adam's original state and fall, Theophilus states that 
God created him free.' 

Though I find nothing in the three books of Theophilus 
which has a direct bearing on the question of justification, 
there is in the first book a passage, p. 74 D, deserving notice, 
in which he describes faith as the moving principle of human 
conduct. With respect to the Divine Providence, Theophilus 
says,^ that it may be traced in the provision made, that every 
kind of flesh should have its appropriate food. " The care of 
God," he says in another place,^ " extends to the dead as 
well as to the living." 

P. 65, note 3. The expression 8ta rov Trap' avrou {jov 

0€o{)) A.oyov occurs repeatedly in Athenagoras, pp. 5 C, 1 1 A, 

12 D, 17 D, 34 D. In all these instances it is to be under- 
stood of the Xoyo9. 

P. 67. Justin speaks of the renunciation of all worldly 
things, but not with any direct reference to the profession 
made in baptism, p. 348 A. I find in Tatian no express 
reference either to baptism or the Eucharist. A passage has 
already been cited, in which he speaks of himself as " born 
anew according to the imitation of the Word."^ 

Athenagoras is also silent respecting the Christian sacra- 
ments. In defending the Christians against the charge of 
not offering sacrifices to the gods, he says that the best 

^ \X%'jhfo)i yap kx) oclri^ovfftov l-proiyinv o @sos rov avipuTrov, " God created 
man free and independent," p. 103 D. So also tov Hv^pu'rav Kvpio\ ovra 
uy,upTr,(Ta.i, " man had failed to be a lord," L. ii. p. 96 B. 

" r»jv T£ "^povoiccv '/jv ToisTrai o &-o;, \'~otfjt,a,Z,uv rpoipriv Taff^i rrccpKi, L, i, 
p. 'J'^ A. See also L. iii. p. 122 D. kou Tpavola, ra Tavrct lmKi7(r0(ti 
I'Triffraf/.i^it, " And we know that all things were ordered by Providence." 

^ L. ii. p. 116 B. 

■* xxyeo xxTO. T/)v rod X'oyov y-if^ntriv avwy-vvyihi;, p. I45 C. See note 28. 



Writings of /us tin Martyr. 143 

sacrifice is to know the true God, and to approach Him 
with pure upHfted hands. ^ He requires only a bloodless 
sacrifice, and a reasonable worship. 

Theophilus, on one occasion,-^ says that Christians are so 
called, because they are anointed with the oil of God; but 
whether he meant to allude to the practice of anointing as a 
part of the ceremony of baptism, or, figuratively, to the unction 
of the Holy Spirit, is uncertain. On another occasion he says ^ 
that God, in the work of creation, blessed the creatures 
inhabiting the waters, to show that hereafter all who come to 
the truth, and are regenerated and receive a blessing from 
God, shall obtain repentance and remission of sins through 
water and the laver of regeneration. Theophilus twice uses 
the word iiofioXoyrja-Ls to express that confession of sin which 
originates in genuine repentance, but not with any reference 
to ecclesiastical discipline.^ 

P. 73, note I. In 1. 2, p. 91 D, Theophilus says, m fxr]i> 

Kttt Trept T^S £/38o>>/s rjix^pas, rjv Trarres fikv avOpoiiroi ovofxdiovaiv, 
ol Bk TrXeious ayvoovcnv otl Trap 'E/3paLOLS o KaXctrat <rd^/3aT0V 

1 ^XXa hffid otlr^ f^tyUrn, iiv yiyvc^Jtr^ur^iv rU lliriivi xa)^ ffvnit^xipcoffi 
rov; ovfKvovs—orccv—Wi>tipo^f^iv off'iov, x'^ipa,-, c^vrZ, 'Zo'icti srt ZP^'"^'^ iKO-Toy-r^ns 
'ixu ; . . . >cairoi ■7epoff(pipuv Uov &ml/^ci>crsv ^v/tc^.v, y.cc) rh Xoytx.h ^potrayuf 
Xarfiiccv. Legatio, p. 13 B, C, D. , « 

2 roiyapoZ, hf^ili Tovrov ^Uxiv zaXouf^'Jc^ Xpt^rtavcr or, zp'°f''^"' '^''"' 

&iov. L. i. p. 77 C. , „ r ■ 

3 'in f^h Kct\ ihXoy^.h v^o rod @ioZ rk Ik tuv lUrm yivcf^Am, o'Tco; r,^ Km 
Tn'Cro us hTyf^c, ro~v /^^XXs/v X«^/3«v£/v rch; kv6p<^<Tov', y.iri.,oi<^^ ku^ ^la^, 
Lu,o,pr,Z, hk l^ccro; kc,) Xovrpod '^c^XtyyiU^icc; ^ivT«j roh; ^ ^poo'^ivrcc;^ rv «X-^ 
hia Kx) kvxyivva>/iyovs koc) X«^/3«v«vT«f ibXoylc^v ^ocpk roZ @tov, L. U. 

p '95 B TertuUian calls Christians Pisciculi, de Baptismo, c. i. See 
my work on that author, c. i, note 73- Theophilus has been supposed to 
allude to baptism in the concluding words of the third book, o^.s .^V 
.if.(^o>.c. k.) «7;«/5.~v« rr>^ clx.hl.s, "That you may have a symbol and 
earnest of the truth." 

* L. ii. pp. 103 B, 105 C. 



144 Some Accotint of the \ 

6vofxat,€TaL fxkv, oi fjv 8e atrial' KaXovcrtv avryv ovk liridTavrai. 

P. 75. Tatian, as we have seen, agrees with his master, 
Justin, in affirming that the soul is not immortal. "The soul, 
O Grecians, is not immortal in itself, but mortal. It may, 
however, escape death. For, being ignorant of the truth, it 
dies and is dissolved together with the body; and rises again 
together with the body at the consummation of all things, 
suffering death by a punishment of eternal duration. On the 
other hand, having obtained the knowledge of God, it dies 
not, though it is dissolved for a time. For in itself it is dark- 
ness, and there is no light in it." ^ In a subsequent passage 
he says that "the soul is not simple, but complex — being 
compound, so as to be visible through the body. For neither 
can it appear without the body, nor does the flesh rise again 
without the soul. Man is not, as some babblers affirm, a 
rational animal, capable of intelligence and knowledge. For 
irrational creatures will be shown to be, according to them, 
capable of intelligence and knowledge." ^ On another occasion 
he says that the soul is the bond of (that which keeps to- 
gether) the flesh, and that the flesh holds in the soul.^ 

Viewing these passages in connexion with others already 
quoted in this chapter,* we find that Tatian conceived man to 
consist of a body and soul. The soul is a portion of the 
spirit pervading matter, and consequently not in itself im- 
mortal ; and the union between the soul and body is dissolved 
by death. But after the consummation of all things the body 
will rise again,^ and the soul be reunited to it, and the general 

^ P. 152 B, quoted in p. 134. 2 p j^^ D. 

^ ^icTf/.o; Ti TYii ffo-fKos "^v^'/i, cr^iTiKri ^i Tijs '4'vx,7t; h ffdp^, p. 154 B, 
quoted in p. 187. ^ pp_ 124-138. 

'' P. 145 D. We find Iv hf^'^pa ffvvnXuKs wpo; aiuviov (iopx Txpoc^o^ioo-STiniy 
"On the day of consummation it will be delivered to the gluttony of 



W74tings of Justin Martyr. 145 

judgment will take place. They who have during this life 
endeavoured to unite their souls to the Divine Spirit will 
attain to an eternity of happiness ; they who have allowed 
their souls to sink downwards, and to be occupied entirely 
with material things, will be doomed to an eternity of 
misery. 

According to Athenagoras, God made man of an immortal 
soul and a body, and gave him intelligence, and a law im- 
planted in his nature.^ If, however, the soul unites itself to 
the spirit pervading matter, and looks not upwards to the 
heavens and to their Creator, but downwards to the earth, as 
if it was mere flesh and blood, it ceases to be a pure spirit." 
The opinions of Athenagoras,^ respecting the resurrection of 
the body, are detailed in the tract which he wrote expressly on 
that subject. In it may be found nearly all the arguments 
which human reason has been able to advance in support of 
the doctrine. 



eternal fire," p. 155 D. Tatian affirms that above the visible heavens 
exist the better ages, a.]u)m o\ Kpurrovi;, having no change of seasons, from 
vi^hich various diseases take their origin ; but blessed with an uniform 
goodness of temperature, they enjoy perpetual day, and light inaccessible 
to men who dwell here below, p. 159 A. In contradistinction from 
those better ages, he calls the present state of things rohs xaf hf^a; aiava;, 
p. 145 p. ^ 

^ KOid' nv I'To'i'/iffiv a.v^pcd'Trov la ^v^T^s a^xvuTOi/ zcii irctj//.ce,7o;, vow ri ffvyKKTiff- 

Kivuffiv avTu Kou vofA,ov s/u,(pvTov, X. r. l. De Mort. Res. p. 54 A. Compare 
Legatio, p. 31 A. 

^ -ffKff^it Hi rovro '4^tJX^ fJi.at.'kia'Ttt. rov uXixov '7rpoiTXix.p>ov(rce, xot.) Wt(fvyKpvJiiira, 
Tvivfji,a,roi, ol Tpo; ra. olpoivKX, xcu rov rovruv -roiHThv, aXXx xcctu <rpos to. i-Triyna, 
(hxWovtra, x-aSoXiKu; {lU y*iv f. om.) us (Jt-'o'/ov cuy.a. xcc) ffkp^, ovkiti -^vivf^a, 
KocSocpov yiyvoy-ivn. LegatlO, p. 3^ C. 

^ In the Legatio, Athenagoras says that after death the good will remain 
with God, exempt from change and suffering as to their soul ; not as flesh, 
though they will have flesh, but as an heavenly spirit, p. 35 D. See also 
p. 39 B, C, where he intimates an intention of writing expressly on the 
resurrection of the body. 



146 Some Accottnf of the 

We have seen that Theophilus describes Adam as neither 
mortal nor immortal when created, but capable of either con- 
dition.^ In order to obtain immortality, man must believe in 
God and fear Him.^ For God will raise up his flesh in a 
state of immortality together with his soul ; and, being made 
immortal, he will see God perfectly. Theophilus speaks of 
the punishment to be undergone by the wicked hereafter as 
eternal.^ We have remarked that, according to Theophilus, 
man will, after the resurrection, be restored to Paradise,^ which 
he describes as situated on this earth, in the eastern parts, 
refulgent with light, and abounding in beautiful plants.^ 

P. 79. In stating Tatian's notions respecting the fall of 
man, we quoted a passage in which it is said that, before the 
creation of man, the Aoyos created angels, who were endowed 
with freedom;^ that one of these angels, to whom Tatian 
applies the epithet " first-born," being more subtle than the 
rest," rebelled against the divine law, and persuaded others 
to join him in- his revolt, and to proclaim him as a god. 
That, in consequence of this revolt, he and his followers were 
excluded from the divine intercourse, and became a host of 
demons, he being their chief. They taught men to believe that 
all events happened by a fatal necessity,^ being dependent 

1 P. 193. He says, also, that the majority conchided the soul to be 
immortal, because God is said in Scripture to have breathed into Adam's 
nostrils the breath of life, and thus to have made him a living soul. L. ii. 
p. 97 C. 

- L. i. p. 74 C. In p. 77 D, Theophilus urges some of the common 
arguments, in order to show that the resurrection of the body is probable. 
See also 1. ii. pp. 93 B, 94 D. 

3 L. i. p. 79 A, C ; 1. ii. p. no D. ^ P. 140. 

^ Compare p. 97 D, with p. loi B. '^ P. 133. 

^ The Greek word is (ppovii^t-Miipo; {<Pfo'jiiA.uTa,TOi in the Septuagint). The 
serpent is described in Gen. iii. as more subtle than any beast of the 
field. 



Writings of Justin Martyr. 147 

upon the position of the stars, of which they drew schemes. 
For, when expelled from heaven, they sojourned among the 
different animals which either creep on the earth, or swim in 
the waters, or range the mountains; and in order that they 
might be thought still to dwell in heaven, and might give a 
specious appearance to their irrational life, they raised the 
creatures among which they lived to heaven, and named the 
constellations after them. Hence the names of the signs of 
the Zodiac. 

In a subsequent passage ^ Tatian says : " The demons (so 
you call them), taking their composition from matter, and 
having the spirit which is in it, became intemperate and 
luxurious ; some of them turning to the purer, some to the 
inferior portions of matter, and framing their conduct accord- 
ingly. These, O Greeks, you worship, though formed out of 
matter, and having deviated far from their appointed and 
regular course. For the above-mentioned (demons), turning 
aside through their folly to vainglory, and casting off all 
control, desired to steal the honours of divinity,— and the 
Lord of the universe has permitted them to revel (in their 

.r«y uixuff^Unv uffnyrKTKv-TO klxv cihxoy, p. 1 47 A. So p. I48 B.^ Totovrol 
rm; Uffiv ol 'Ba.ifji.ovi;, nvToi 01 rh ufiocpu.Ur.v uftffctv' (rrotx-^iuffii Ti uirots h 
l^coiTii h, X. r.i. " Such were the demons who traced out their destiny. 
But enchantment was their means of making alive." The word ffrotxilu<Tt; 
is used with reference to the artifices of the demons, first in producing 
diseases, and afterwards in removing them, p. 156 B. Saturn and the 
other planets and stars are called rm ui^aff^ivm olxovof^ot, " the managers of 
destiny," pp. 149 B, 150 A. 

1 P. 151 C. Tatian, as we have seen, held that the ciyyiko; TpuToyovo;, 
"first-born angel," and his followers, after their revolt, became demons. 
He now appears to be speaking of their subsequent condition, when they 
had departed still further from their alleniance to God. The Paris editors 
are careful to guard the readers of Tatian against what they term his error, 
in supposing that demons are material. Tatian applies the term Uif^o^u, 
'' demons," to the heathen gods, p. 165 A. 



14B Some Accoimt of the 

rebellion) until the world shall come to an end, and be dis- 
solved, and the Judge shall appear, and all men who, notwith- 
standing the opposition of the demons, aspire to the knowledge 
of the perfect God, shall receive through their trials a more 
perfect testimony in the day of judgment." 

But though the demons are material, they have not flesh. ^ 
Their composition is spiritual, like that of fire or air. Their 
bodies, consequently, cannot be seen, excepting by those who 
are guarded by the Spirit of God : those who are only animal 
(ot \l/vxiKoV) cannot see them. On this account, also, the sub- 
stance of demons has no place of repentance ; for they are the 
brightness (aTravydcrixaTa) of matter and evil — and the design 
of matter is always to bring the soul within its power. Hence 
the sole object of the demons is to lead men away from the 
truth. With this view they invented the arts of divination 
and set up the Oracles.^ They employ every artifice to 
prevent the soul from rising upwards, and pursuing its way 
to heaven."''' If they possessed the power, they would drag 
down the heavens, together with the rest of the creation ; ^ but, 

1 P. 154 C. Talian afterwards says that the demons occasionally ex- 
liibited themselves to the -^v^^ixoi, p. 155 B. 

- P. 152 B. Compare p. 153 B, where Tatian, after he has observed 
that the demons deceive solitary (deserted by the diviner Spirit) souls by 
visions, adds that, "as they have not flesh, they do not easily die ; but 
even while living they work the works of death, themselves dying as often 
as they discipline their followers in sin ; so that what is peculiar to them 
at present, viz. that they do not die like men, will, when they come to be 
punished, be the cause of their dying through all eternity. The short- 
ness of man's existence curtails his power of transgression ; whereas the 
demons, whose existence is infinite, contract an infinite guilt." I am not 
sure that I understand the author's meaning in this passage, in which he 
seems strangely to confound natural with spiritual death ; but I conceive 
it to be that no change can take place in the condition of demons, because 
they are not subject to death as men are ; they go on sinning to eternity — 
a state M'hich he calls eternal death. 

' P. 155 A. ' P. 155 C. 



Wn tings of Jttstin Ma7'ty7\ 149 

as they cannot effect this, they are continually — by means of 
the inferior matter — warring against the matter which is similar 
to themselves. Successfully to resist them, we must put on 
the breastplate of the Heavenly Spirit. One great object of 
the demons is, to persuade man that whatever happens to 
him, either of good or evil, whether he falls sick or recovers 
from sickness, is owing to their agency.^ To this end they 
invented amulets, philters, and charms, in order that man 
might be induced to trust to them, or, at least, to the pro- 
perties of matter, rather than to his Creator. 

On one occasion Tatian combats the notion that the 
demons are the souls of dead men.^ "For how," he asks, 
" can souls become efficient agents after death ? unless we 
suppose that man, after death, can acquire greater powers of 
action than he possessed while living." 

We have seen that Athenagoras speaks of angels to whom 
God assigned the office of watching over the well-being of the 
universe.^ In a subsequent passage,* having recited the 
opinions of the Gentile philosophers respecting demons, he 
goes on to explain his own views of the subject. He says 
that "Christians, in addition to the Father, the Son His 
Word, and the Holy Spirit, acknowledge other powers, con- 
versant about matter and pervading it, one of whom is opposed 
to God ; not as strife is to friendship in the system of Empe- 
docles, or night to day in the phenomena of nature (since 
anything actually opposed to God must cease to exist, its very 
composition being dissolved by the power and force of God) \ 
but because to the goodness of God, which is His inseparable 

^ P. 155 c. 

'- P. 154 D. The passage is corrupt, but the meaning clear. 
^ P. 139. See p. II A. 

^ Legatio, p. 27 A. I have given the sense rather than a literal 
translation of the passage. 



150 Some Account of the 

attribute, is opposed the spirit conversant with matter, created 
indeed by God, as the other angels were created by Him, and 
entrusted with the administration of matter and its forms. 
For the angels were created by God with reference to His 
various works; that, as God exercised a general providence 
over the universe, they might exercise a pa7'tiailar providence 
over the diiferent parts assigned them. But, as in the case of 
men who are free to choose virtue and vice (since you would 
neither honour the good nor punish the bad, unless virtue 
and vice were in their own power) some are found faithful, 
some unfaithful, in that with which they are entrusted ; so of 
the angels, some continued such as they were created by God, 
fulfilling the ends for which He created and designed them, 
but others abused both their nature and the power committed 
to them ; among them the ruler of matter and its forms, and 
others who were placed immediately around its first firmament ; 
they smitten with the desire of women, and yielding to carnal 
lusts ; he becoming negligent and faithless about the administra- 
tion of that with which he was entrusted. From the intercourse 
of the angels with women sprang those who are called giants. 
The angels, therefore, who were expelled from heaven, hovering 
about the air and earth, and no longer able to elevate themselves 
to heavenly things, and the souls of the giants, who are the 
demons, wandering about the world, excite motions corre- 
sponding, some to the substances which the demons assumed, 
others to the desires which the angels felt. But the ruler of 
matter, as may be seen from the events which happen, opposes 
himself in his whole conduct to the goodness of God. So 
much were even the Gentiles struck with the confusion apparent 
throughout the world, that they doubted whether it was under 
the direction of Providence ; and Aristotle determined that 
the parts below the heavens were not. Whereas the general 
providence of God extends alike to all things, and each par- 
ticular thing follows its own particular law ; but the motions 
and influences of the demons introduce these disorders, im- 



Writings of Jtistin Martyr, 1 5 1 

pelling individuals and nations, in part and generally, from 
within and from without, according to the proportion subsist- 
ing between matter and the affection to divine things. On 
which account, some men of no small repute thought that 
the universe was not constituted with any order, but was driven 
about by irrational chance ; being ignorant that, with reference 
to the composition of the universe, nothing is without its fixed 
object, or is neglected, and that there is a reason for the 
creation of each part, so that it never transgresses its appointed 
order." Then follows a passage already quoted,^ relating to 
the original constitution of man ; after which Athenagoras 
adds, " The powers which draw men towards idols are the 
above-mentioned demons, who settle upon the victims, and 
suck the blood ; but the gods, in whom the multitude delights, 
and whose names are given to the statues, were men, as we 
may know from their respective histories." ^ He then states 
that the demons in reality exert the powers which are ascribed 
by the vulgar to the idols ; and goes on to explain the mode 
in which men are perverted to the worship of idols. ^ His 
notion is, that " the irrational and visionary movements of 
the soul with respect to opinions, call up different idols ; 
sometimes extracting them out of matter ; sometimes framing 
and begetting them to themselves. And the soul is principally 
subject to this affection, when it lays hold of, and is mixed up 
with, the material spirit ; not looking upwards to heavenly things 
and to their Maker, but downwards entirely to the earth, as if it 
were only flesh and blood, and no longer a pure spirit. These 
irrational and visionary movements of the soul beget imagina- 

' P. 139. 

2 Athenagoras proves this at great length, p. 31 A. 

^ P. 30 C. Athenagoras seems in this passage to use the word ithuXov 
ambiguously ; either to signify an image presented to the mind, or a 
material object of worship. Concerning the powers exerted by the idols, 
r«j lihu-km hipyuas, see pp. 1 7 C, 25 A, where Athenagoras admits that 
some wonders are wrought by the idols, but says that they ought not to 
be ascribed to the gods whose names the idols bear. 



152 Some Account of the 

tions leading to a mad desire of idols. But when the tender 
and flexible soul, untaught, and unacquainted with sound reason- 
ings, having never contemplated the truth, or comprehended in 
its thought the Father and Maker of the universe, receives the 
impression of these false opinions, the demons, who hover 
about matter, sucking up the steam and blood of the victims, 
laying hold, in order to deceive man, of these movements 
of the souls of the multitude which lead to falsehood, cause 
images to flow into them, as if proceeding from the idols 
and images, the names of which they have appropriated to 
themselves. Thus, too, the demons obtain the credit of 
those rational movements of the soul which belong to it 
as immortal, when it either foretells the future or remedies 
the present." 

Theophilus appears to have written a work,^ in which he had 
said much respecting Satan, whom he describes as still work- 
ing in men, and calls a demon and dragon, assigning as the 
reason for this latter name that he was a fugitive from God ; 
for he was originally an angel. ^ Speaking of the heathen 
poets, Theophilus says that they were inspired by demons ; 
and in proof of this assertion states that, when men under the 
influence of a demoniacal possession were exorcised in the 
name of the true God, the spirits which seduced them confessed 
themselves to be demons.^ 

With respect to the gods of the heathen, Theophilus 
affirms repeatedly that they were dead men.'* He calls them 
also demons, impure demons ; whence we may infer that he 
agreed with Athenagoras in thinking, though he does not 
expressly say so, that the demons were the instigators of 

• L. ii. p. 104 D. 

'^ dice. TO K'TTodidpaKivcct uvTov XTfo Tov &10U, p. 104 D. 

3 L. ii. p. 87 C. 

* L. i. pp. 75 A, 76 A ; 1. ii. pp. 80 D, 86 B, 1 10 A. 



Writings of Justin Martyr. 1 5 3 

idolatry, and reaped the advantage of the worship which they 
caused to be paid to the statues of dead men.i 

P. 85. Tatian, speaking in his own person, thus describes 
the moral character of the Christians of his day : 2 " I wish not 
to reign ; I wish not to be rich ; I avoid military office ; I 
abhor fornication ; I will not make long voyages through the 
insatiate desire of gain ; I contend not at games in order to 
obtain a crown ; I am far removed from the mad love of glory ; 
I despise death ; I am superior to every kind of disease ; my 
soul is not consumed by grief. If I am a slave, I submit to 
my servitude ; if I am free, I pride not myself in my noble 
birth. I see one sun common to all ; I see one death common 
to all, whether they live in pleasure or in want." 

In a subsequent passage Tatian says : ^ "With us there is no 
desire of vainglory, and we consequently affect not a variety 
of doctrines ; but separated from the vulgar and earthly senti- 
ment, and obeying the precepts of God, and following the law 
of the father of incorruption, we renounce all that rests on 
human opinion. Not only do the rich learn philosophy, but 
the poor also enjoy instruction gratis;* for that which comes 
from God cannot be paid for by any worldly compensation. 
Thus we receive all who wish to hear, even though they are 
old women or children. In a word, all ages receive honour 
with us ; but all lasciviousness is far removed from us." Speak- 
ing of his own conversion to Christianity, Tatian says ^ that, 
" observing the trifling questions on which the Gentiles, who 
affected the character of wisdom, employed themselves ; their 
ignorance of all that really deserved to be known; their 
presumption ; their pride ; the variety of opinions which pre- 

1 L. i. p. 76 C; 1. iii. p. ii8 A. 

2 P. 150 B. Compare p. 162 D. ^ P. 167 A. 
* See p. 168 C. Compare p. 9, note 5. 

5 Pp. 163 C to 165 C. 



154 Some Account of the 

vailed among them even on the nature of virtue and vice, 
some holding that to be honourable which others deemed 
infamous — whereas the nature of virtue must be always the 
same ; — observing all these things, and having been initiated 
into their mysteries, and ascertained the flagitious character 
of their rites, he considered with himself in what manner he 
could arrive at the truth. While he was thus considering, he 
met with certain barbarous writings, ancient in comparison 
with the dogmas of the Greeks ; divine in comparison with 
their error. To these he gave his assent, moved by the 
unpretending character of the diction ; the simplicity of the 
speakers ; the mode in which the work of creation was rendered 
easy of comprehension ; the prediction of future events ; the 
excellence of the precepts ; and the doctrine of the subjection 
of the universe to one God." 

As Tatian exposes at some length what he deems the 
abominations of the theatrical exhibitions, and of the public 
games, we may conclude that he did not deem it consistent 
with the profession of Christianity to attend them.^ 

Athenagoras, having recited some of the moral precepts 
delivered by our Saviour, in order to explain to the emperors 
the real character of Christianity, asks,^ " Who among those, 
who analyze syllogisms, and resolve ambiguities, and explain 
etymologies, and define homonymes and synonymes, and cate- 
gories, and axioms, and the subject and the predicate, and 
profess that by such instructions they can make their hearers 
happy — who among them are so purified in their souls as, 
instead of hating, to love their enemies ; as, instead of doing 
that which is even deemed a mark of the greatest moderation 
— of retorting evil language — to bless their calumniators, and 
even to pray for those who are laying snares against their life ? 
The heathen teachers of knowledge, on the contrary, are ever 
' Pp. i6o D to 162 B. ^ Legatio, p. 11 C. 



Writings of Justin Marty^^. 1 5 5 

forming some forbidden scheme against their adversaries, and 
desiring to do them injury ; making their profession a mere 
flourish of words, and not a rule of practice.^ But among us 
you may find illiterate persons, and artisans, and old women, 
who, if they cannot show the benefits resulting from their pro- 
fession by their words, show it by practice. For they do not 
commit words to memory, but show forth good deeds ; — when 
struck, they strike not again — when robbed, they have not re- 
course to the law — they give to those who ask — and love their 
neighbours as themselves. Is it hkely that we should thus 
purify ourselves, unless we believed that God presided over 
the human race ? No one can say so. But because we are 
persuaded that we shall render an account of our present Hfe 
to the God Who made both us and the world, we choose the 
moderate and benevolent, and (in human estimation) despised 
course of life ; thinking that even if we lose our lives, we 
cannot suffer any evil here^ to be compared with the reward 
which we shall receive hereafter from the great Judge, on ac- 
count of our gentle and benevolent and temperate behaviour." 2 
In a subsequent passage,-^ Athenagoras states that, agreeably 
to the injunctions of their blessed Master, Christians are pure, 
not only in their actions and their words, but even in their 
thoughts; knowing that the eye of God is ever over them, and 
that being Himself wholly light, He looks into the very heart. 

He alleges as a proof that the Christians were not guilty of 
the crimes imputed to them, that no one of their slaves, who 

Tt^v'/iv Xoyuv, xa.) ovx Iti^h^iv 'ipyuv, to <rpKyfioe. Ticrot^ifiivoi. So p. ^'J A, 
ov ya-p [mXit'/i x'oyeav, ot,XK I'Tthii^u ko.) ^thatrxxXia, spyuv, rot, ^/Mnpet, " iNiOt 
by the use of words, but by the display and practice of deeds." ** Quotus 
enim quisque Philosophorum invenitur, qui sit ita moratus, ita animo ac 
vita constitutus, ut ratio postulat ? qui disciplinam suam, non ostentationem 
scientiae, sed legem vitse putet ? qui obtemperet ipse sibi, ac decretis suis 
pareat?" Cicero, Tusc. ii. c. 4 or 12, 

- The same argument is again urged, p. 35 C. 

^ Pp- 35 C. 36 A. 



156 Sojue Account of the 

must have been privy to the fact, had ever been brought 
forward to give evidence against them, or had even laid such 
crimes falsely to their charge.^ " For how," he says, " can 
any one accuse of homicide, or of eating human flesh, those 
who cannot bear to be present even at the execution of a 
person justly condemned ? While others rush with eagerness 
to behold the combats of the gladiators, and the conflicts with 
wild beasts, we renounce such sights, thinking that there is little 
difference between witnessing and committing homicide. Can 
we then commit murder, who will not even look upon it, lest 
we should bring upon ourselves guilt and pollution? " Athena- 
goras then goes on to say that the Christians would neither 
use medicines in order to procure abortions, nor expose their 
offspring. 

Having stated that the purity of the Christians extended not 
only to their actions, but also to their desires and thoughts,^ 
he adds that they regarded the younger members of the 
community as their children ; those of their own age as 
brothers and sisters ; those advanced in years as their parents. 
" Having then," he proceeds, " the hope of eternal life, we 
despise the things of this life, and all in which the soul takes 
pleasure. Each of us confines himself to his own wife ; and 
marries not to satisfy desire, but to beget children. Many 
among us, both men and women, have grown old in a state of 
celibacy, through the hope that they shall thereby be more 
closely united to God. But if the condition of virgins and 
eunuchs is more acceptable to God, and even thoughts and 
desires exclude us from His presence, surely we shall renounce 
the act when we shun the very wish. For our profession con- 
sists not in well-composed sentences, but in practice. Either 
we remain as we are born, or we contract one marriage ; for a 
second marriage is a decorous adultery. 'For whoever,' He 
(Christ) says, 'puts away his wife, and marries another, 
P. 38 B. P. 36 A. 



Wrilings of J its tin Martyr. 157 

commits adultery ; ' neither allowing us to put away our 
wives, nor to marry again. For he who cuts himself off 
from his first wdfe, even though she be dead, is a concealed 
adulterer ; transgressing the hand (work) of God in the 
creation (for God in the beginning created one man and 
one woman), and dissolving the union of the flesh." M. 
Barbeyraci has animadverted, and not without reason, upon 
the preference ascribed to a life of celibacy in the above 
passage ; upon the restriction of the use of marriage to the 
sole object of having children ; and upon the condemnation 
pronounced against second marriages. Nothing indeed can 
be more forced than the application of the texts of Scripture, 
or more inconclusive than the reasoning. 

Theophilus pursues the same course of argument as Athena- 
goras in defending the Christians against the calumnious 
accusations of their adversaries. Having recited the precepts 
of the gospel respecting purity of thought and wish, universal 
benevolence, humility, obedience to magistrates, he asks,^ 
" Can they who learn such precepts live Hke brute beasts, or 
indulge in unnatural lusts, or eat human flesh ? they who are 
not permitted even to behold the combats of the gladiators, 
lest they should become, as it were, accessaries to murder; 
they who are not permitted to frequent the theatres, lest their 
eyes and ears should be polluted by the horrible and vicious 
stories which form the subjects of the dramatic exhibitions? 
Far be the thought of doing such acts from Christians, who 
are chaste, temperate, who confine themselves to one wife— 
among whom purity is cultivated, injustice and sin are extir- 
pated, justice and law are observed, piety is practised, God is 
confessed, truth sits in judgment, grace and peace act as 
guardians and protectors, the Holy Word is the guide, Wisdom 
the teacher, the true life the director, God the king."^ 

1 Traitede la Morale des Peres, c. 4, sect. vi. ^ L. iii. p. 126 D. 

•' I entertain doubts about the words loj^ ^^c^^ivu in ihc text ; if they are 



158 Some Account of the 

Theophilus does not appear to have entertained the exag- 
gerated notion of the merit of ceHbacy which we have 
remarked in Athenagoras. Speaking of what he terras the 
prophecy of Adam/ in Gen. ii., "Therefore shall a man 
leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife ; 
and they shall be one flesh," he says that it was accomplished 
in the conduct of the Christians. "For who," he asks, "being 
lawfully married, does not (comparatively) despise his father, 
and mother, and kindred, and relations — cleaving and united 
to his wife, and concentrating his affections in her? so that 
many have not refused to encounter death for the sake of 
their wives." Theophilus describes himself as originally a 
Gentile, and converted to Christianity by reading the sacred 
writings of the prophets, and observing how events corre- 
sponded to their predictions. ^ 

P. 90. On the subject of the subsistence of miraculous 
powers in the Church, most of my readers will remember the 
remarks of Gibbon ^ on the reply made by Theophilus when 
challenged by Autolycus to point out a single person who had 
been raised from the dead. Theophilus answers that there is 
no great merit in believing what we see ; that Autolycus, who 
believed that Hercules who was burned, and ^sculapius who 
was killed by a thunderbolt, still lived, was not very consistent 
in doubting the assertions of God Himself in Scripture re- 
specting the resurrection of the dead; that perhaps, if his 
demand was satisfied, he would still remain incredulous ; that 
the natural world supplies many analogies from which we 

not an interpolation, 'C,u^a must refer to the title which our Saviour gives 
Himself, John xi. 25, xiv. 6. 
^ L. ii. p. 104 C. 

2 L. i. p. 78 D ; 1. ii. p. 88 A. 

3 Chap. XV. p. 476, quarto ed. Autolycus does not promise, on the 
production of a person so raised, to embrace Christianity^ but to believe 
in the resurrection of the dead. L. ii. p. 77 C. 



Writings of J 21 still Martyr, 159 

may infer that the dead will rise. But Theophilus certainly 
does not accept the challenge of Autolycus ; he does not even 
say that he himself knew an instance in which a dead man 
had been raised. Having elsewhere^ stated my opinion 
respecting the date of the cessation of miraculous powers 
in the Church, I shall now say nothing further on the 
subject. 

P. 92. Theophilus opposes "holy churches" to "heresies." 
L. ii. p. 94 A. 

P. 96. Justin speaks of Damascus and Rama as situated 
in Arabia. Dial. pp. 305 A, 304 D. 

P. 97. Tatian speaks ^ as if Moses was considered by some 
to be contemporary with Inachus ; and says, that in that case 
he lived 400 years before the Trojan war. The Sibyl is also 
mentioned as more ancient than Homer.^ 

The verses of the Sibyl are once quoted by Athenagoras,^ 
who says that Plato had mentioned her. Theophilus gives 
long extracts from the verses of the Sibyl,^ and names her 
together with the prophets.*^ 

According to Theophilus. Moses lived 900 or 1000 years 
before the Trojan war.^ He says^ also that, according to 

1 In my work On Teiiullian, p. lOO, 

2 P. 172 c. '^ P. 173 c. 

* Legatio, p. 33 D. See the Hortatory Address to the Greeks^ p. 16 D. 
5 L. ii. pp. 81 B, 88 A, 107 C, 112 A. 

8 roiw) 2//3vXX« Kou o't Xof^o) '^po(pnrot,i, "This Sibyl and the remaining 
prophets," p. 116 A. 
^ L. iii. p. 131 C. 
8 L. ii. p. 106 D. In 1. iii. p. 129 B, he assigns the reason why Noah 

was so called, u? NiSs, xarayysXXuv t^i; rori elv^pcu'Toi; f^iXXtiv x.a.TCCK'kviTy.OM 
(crta-^aiy '!rpoi(pvriv(riy kutoT; Xiyuv, ^ivn, xaXu v/au; Siot u; fz-ruviixv, dio 



i6o Some Account of the 

some, Deucalion was the same as Noah. We have seen that 
he speaks of the prophecy of Adam.^ 

The author of the Hortatory Address to the Greeks speaks 
of Moses as the first prophet and legislator : 2 "Ap^o/xat 
TOivuv (XTTO Tov 7rpa>T0v Trap' r}}uv nrpof^rjTOv t€ kol vofxoOirov 
M(o crews. 

P. 108. We find in Athenagoras a passage^ which 
appears to be meant for a quotation from the New Testa- 
ment, but is not found in our present books. Lardner ■* says 
that "there is no necessity of supposing that Athenagoras 
ascribes them (the words) to Christ, or that he took them 

olKiico; AivxecXim i^XrifA. " Even as Noah proclaimed to men that the 
fiood would shortly come, and prophesying to them saying, ' Come hither, 
God calls you to repentance' ; wherefore he was also called Deucalion." 
He had previously said, y^ro roZ N&l= 'Efipcx,'iffr), 0? '^np/n'/iviviron t55 'EXkd^i 
yXuirffYi a.\ia,'7rot,v(ri;, " By the Hebrew name Noah, which is interpreted in 
the Greek tongue u.vix.'Travcn?, 'rest.'" In 1. ii. p. 108 C, we find the 
following derivation of the word 'lipovffa.'kyifji, : xara Ti rov alrov x.aipov 
lyiviro (ia/riXiv; ^ixeiio;, ovo/xart MiXp(^KTih\^, iv -proXit 2u,Xvif^, rn vuv 'lipo(roXvf/.a.. 
(f. 'lipoviTciX^fA..) oiiTo; hpsh; iyiviro 'Ptpuros Tavruv npiuv rov @iov rou v^kttou' 
el-TTo Tovrov 'h -roXi; Mvof/,cia'^)j 'lipouirocXh/^, h 'Tfponp'/if^iv'/i IzpoffoXvf/,a. " But 
at that time there was a righteous king named Melchisedech, in the 
city of Salem, which is now Jerusalem. He was made the first of all 
priests {iipih;) by God the Most High. Wherefore the city was called 
Jerusalem." 

1 P. 217. 2 p. 9. 

^ TciXiv 'A[MV xiyovTo; tov Xoyov, Iciv ris oia, nrovro \k dtv-ipov x.arxipiXna'yi on 
'lipitTiv cclru' y,ou i'7!'i(pipovros, ovrwi oiiv oe.x.pifiua'cx.cr&xi to (p'lX'/tfx.oc, [/.ocXXov o\ to 
'TrpoffKvvnfj^a,, oil' ug, u Tfov fiixpov t3? otocvoia. <Ta,pa,6oXuhin, 'i^u vificis rjjj oc'tuv'iov 
TifivTo; Z,um. Legatio, p. 36 C. The Benedictine editors refer to Clemens 
Alexandrinus. Fttd. 1. iii. p. 301, ed. Potter. 

^ Credibility, c. 18, sect. xx. Lardner refers to Jones On the Canon, 
vol. i. p. 551. Le Nourry doubts whether Athenagoras quoted the 
Nazarene Gospel, or gave the sense instead of the precise words of 
Scripture, p. 487. Tatian speaks of a,\ h/oTUTcm Ipfir.vuui, p. 151 C; and 

of himself as SnoTipu; tivo; iH.<puv^a-iu; X'oyo) ■AO.TO.y^puf/i'iOV, p. 1 52 A. 



Writings of Justin Mat'tyr. i6i 

out of any copies of our Gospels, or from any Apocryphal 
Gospel. They may be as well cited from some Christian 
writer, whom Athenagoras thought to have expressed himself 
upon this subject agreeably to the strict doctrine of Christ 
delivered in the Gospels." I must confess that I am not 
satisfied with this solution, — though I cannot suggest a 
better. 



THE 



FIRST APOLOGY OF ST. JUSTIN 
FOR THE CHRISTIANS 



TO 



ANTONINUS PIUS. 



THE 



FIRST APOLOGY OF ST. JUSTIN 
FOR THE CHRISTIANS 



TO 



ANTONINUS PIUS. 



To the Emperor Titus ^lius Adrianus Antoninus Pius 
Augustus Caesar,! and to his son Verissimus the philosopher, 
and to Lucius the philosopher, the natural son of Caesar, but 
the adopted of Pius, the lover of learning ; and to the sacred 
senate, and to all the people of Rome, in the behalf of men of 
all ranks and nations unjustly loaded with public odium and 
oppression, 1,2 Justin, the son of Priscus, and grandson of 

^ From this liberal inscription of titles, you may see that St. Justin 
was not of the same spirit with our Quakers in point of salutation ; for 
the understanding of which inscription you are to take notice that the first 
named in it is the Emperor Antoninus Pius, the adoptive son of Adrian ; 
the second, called Verissimus, is Marcus Antoninus the philosopher, 
the adoptive son of Antoninus Pius ; the third is Lucius Verus, the son 
of ^lius Verus, who had been Caesar, and was the adoptive son of 
Antoninus Pius. The titles here bestowed by the martyr were the most 
beloved ones ; for the family of the Antonines from Adrian to Commodus 
affected the title of philosophers as much as that of fathers of their 
country, etc. 

2 'Uvirrivo? Upianou tou Bukx/iov, etc. Jerome in his catalogue makes 
Priscus Bacchius the father of Justin ; and herein is followed by Caristo- 



(2) The First Apology of Justin Martyr, 

Bacchius, natives of Flavia Neapolis i of Palestine, Syria, I, who 
am one of this suffering multitude, humbly offer this Apology. 2 

II. It is the voice of reason, and ever attended to by men 
truly pious and worthy the name of philosopher, that truth 
alone is the thing to be had in the highest honour, and to 
hold the first place in our affections, and the ancients to be 
followed not one step further than they are followers of truth. 
The same right reason dictates also that we are not' only to 
strike in with any sect of men, unjust either in practice or 
principle, but, moreover, that a lover of the truth must by all 
means, and before life itself, and in defiance of all the menaces 
of death, choose to square his words and actions by the rules 
of justice whatever it cost him. And whereas you wear the 
glorious titles of pious and philosophers, and guardians of 
justice and lovers of learning, though these, I say, are the 
darling characters you affect to be distinguished by everywhere, 

phorson, and by all the versions of Justin, till that corrected by the learned 
Dr. Grabe ; but it is evident from the construction of the words that 
Priscus was the father, and Bacchius the grandfather ; for tut aro 
^Xciovix; being of the plural number cannot agree with llpia-Kov rev 
Banpf^iiou of the singular, if it was but one person. The great Du Pin 
has taken up with this common mistake, and the ingenious author of the 
notes upon him has overlooked it also, which I the rather wonder at, 
because the excellent Dr. Cave, whom he is pleased sometimes to animad- 
vert upon, would have set him to rights in this matter in his most accurate 
life of this martyr. — Vtd. tom. i. Spicileg. Patr. Scec. xi. p. 134 ; and Vales., 
Notes upon Eiiseb. p. 66. 

^ This Flavia Neapolis anciently went by the name of Sichem, a noted 
city of Palestine in the province of Samaria, and from a colony sent thither 
by Flavius Vespasian called Flavia. — Vid. Not. Vales, ad Euseb. lib. iv. 
chap. xii. 

=^"EvT££/|;v. Valesius in his notes upon this word in Eusebius, p. 66, 
says that 'i\ruyx^a.tuv is to go and supplicate the Emperor either by a 
petition in writing or by word of mouth, and so tjjv wpoiT(pMv/i(rtv xa) hnv^iv 
voiovf^ai are both included in this version, whether it was delivered in 
writing or by word of mouth according to Perionius. 



The First Apology of Justin Marty 7'. (3) 

yet whether you make them good or no shall be seen by the 
following discourse ; for we come not here with a design to 
flatter or ingratiate by the power of fine words, but we come 
in plain terms to demand judgment according to the strictest 
and exactest rules of justice, that neither prejudice nor the 
vanity of getting into the good graces of superstitious men, 
nor blind passion, or a scandalous report which has so long 
prepossessed you, might any longer prevail with you to pass 
sentence against yourselves by condemning the innocent \ for 
it is a maxim among us Christians that we cannot possibly 
suffer any real hurt, if we cannot be convicted of doing any 
real evil : " You may kill indeed, but you cannot hurt us.''^ 

III. But that you may not look upon this as a senseless 
bravado, or bold flourish only, we pray the charge against 
Christians may be examined into, and if upon examination 
ihe allegations prove true, let them be punished accordingly, 
or rather do you who are the judges award the punishment, 
and not leave it to the discretion of the mob.- But if nothing 
criminal can be made out against us, you cannot surely judge 
it reasonable to injure a harmless people barely upon an evil 
report ; though, let me tell you, while thus you consult not 
your judgment but your passion in the distributions of jus- 
tice, you will pull down the mischief upon yourselves which 
you are heaping upon us. Every man of sense must own it 

^ 'T^sr? ^' a.vojiTitva.i fAv ^vvaffh, (IXk-^oh V ov. In this sentence I doubt 
not but our Martyr had reference to that of Plato, where we have the 
same sense in ahiiost the same words, and in an Apology. For thus 
Socrates tells the Athenians : i'J ya,p "an l«v \[A ocTroKTilvin roioZrov 

o'lov iyu Xiyck), ovx. IfA /Lcii^co (iXK-^iTi '/j iiy-KS ecvrov. ijui yccp ov^iv (ixd^ii 

oiln MiXtros ovri "Avvtos, etc. — Plato's Apology of Socrates^ Camb. edit. 
p. 26. 

^ MaXXav Ti koXcIXsiv. I have followed Dr. Grabe's conjecture in the 
version of these words. But Dr. Cave translates them thus: "Nay, let 
them be more severely punished than other men." — Prim. Christianity, 
p. 83. 



(4) The First Apology of Justin Martyr. 

the fairest and most equitable way of proceeding in courts of 
judicature for the people to deliver in a just unexceptionable 
declaration of their words and actions, and then for the 
magistrates to proceed to sentence, not as the lust of tyranny 
and oppression pushes on, but as piety and true wisdom steer 
their judgment. By this expedient happy will the prince and 
happy will the people be who are in such a case ; for it is a 
saying of one of the ancients, " That till magistrates and 
people both thus philosojDhise, the body politic will never be 
well." ^ Accordingly, therefore, it shall be my business, in the 
first place, to lay before the public a faithful memorial of our 
life and doctrine, that we may not thank ourselves for our 
sufferings, which for want of due information you may inflict 
upon us ; but then remember, it is your parts and duties, ac- 
cording to the aforesaid rule of reason, to see that when you 
have heard the cause you are found to judge righteous judg- 
ment ; for, believe me, you will be without excuse before God 
for the time to come, if after you understand the Christian 
cause, you refuse a Christian justice ; the bare application of 
a name without any fact faUing under that name is looked 
'upon as neither good nor evil; and as for our name, which is 
tantamount to a crime against a Christian, if we are tried upon 
that article, we must certainly be acquitted as very good men ; 
but as we should deem it unreasonable when convicted of real 
crimes to plead a bare name only in arrest of judgment, so, 
on the other side, if both with respect to our name and the 
nature of our polity we are found altogether innocent, it lies 
at your door to take care, lest by unjustly punishing a people 
convicted of no evil you yourselves deservedly smart for such 
injustice. Praise and punishment, then, cannot with reason be 
charged upon a mere name, unless there be actions either good 
or bad to justify the charge ; but it is very notorious that when 

Platonis, lib. v., de Repub. And it being a saying also fainiliarly in 
the mouths of these emperors, it is the more pertinently made use of by 
the apologist. 



The First Apology of Justin Martyr. (5) 

any of your own religion are brought to trial, you never punish 
before you convict them; but when a Christian is indicted, 
you snatch at the shadow of his name for a substantial crime ; ^ 
whereas would you but give yourselves leave to consider that 
name, you would find it more becoming to animadvert upon 
the accusers than the accused; for we are indicted by the 
name of Christians, but now xP^crros is a word for kind or 
good; and such a word surely cannot be a just foundation of 
hatred.2 Again, if any of the accused retract the name of 
Christian, you take him presently at his word, and acquit him 
as having nothing more criminal to charge against him ; but 
he who has the courage to stick to the profession of his name 
is certain to suffer for so doing, when the life of the professor 
and the non-professor both ought to be the subject of your 
inquiry, that the merits of both might be manifested by their 
actions. 

IV. But as some disciples ^ have so learned their Master 

^ This is the general complaint which runs through all the ancient 
Apologies, that they were accused, condemned, and executed merely for 
the name of Christian ; and this name in truth was their boast, their 
ornament of grace, the chain about their neck in which they gloried above 
all the titles here below ; and therefore when the champion Attalus was 
led about the amphitheatre in scorn, he had a table before him with this 
inscription : "This is Attalus the Christian," Euseb. Hisl. lib. v. p. 162. 
And when Christianity had well-nigh subdued the world, Julian the apostate 
set himself to banish this name from the face of the earth, and always in 
derision called the Christians Galileans ; and not only so, but made a law 
that they should only be called by that name. Am. Inved. in Julian, i. p. 81. 

2 The ignorance and malice of persecuting upon the account of this 
name you will find in Terttdlian, chap. iii. ; Lactan. lib. iv. chap, vii. 
Our Saviour is called Chrestos by Suetonius, in vitd Claudii ; but Tacitus, 
who lived in the same age with him, is right in the name both of Christ 
and Christians. " Quos vulgo Christianos appellabat," and then adds, 
** Auctor nominis ejus Christus," — Tacit. Annul, lib. xv. 

^ The lives of the primitive professors were one of the greatest and most 
sensible arguments that by degrees subdued the heathen world to Christianity. 
This was the motive that worked upon our Justin. He saw prodigious 



(6) The First Apology of Jnstin Martyr. 

Christ as to witness a good confession, and when put to the 
question have, by their Christian bravery, so wrought upon 
their enemies as to win them over, if not to embrace the faith, 
yet at least to admire it, so, on the contrary, others by not 
living up to their holy profession have given occasion to the 
dissolute part of mankind to blaspheme Christianity in general 
for their sakes. But neither is this right, for many among you 
put on the name and habit of a philosopher whose lives are 
not of a piece with their dress or suitable to their profession, 
and you know very well that there have been those who have 
held and propagated opinions contrary to the ancients, and 
yet have all been clothed alike with the name of philosopher ; 
nay, there have been professors of atheism, and your poets 
have very liberally indulged their muse upon the uncleanness 
of Jove and his family; and the succeeding wits who tread in 
their steps, and espouse the same opinions, are so far from 
being taken up and prosecuted, that you assign them public 
pensions and honours for thus sweetly exposing your gods. 

V. Why then may not we Christians meet with a little of 
this good usage, we who will give security not to do any harm, 
or to harbour any opinions that have a real tendency to 
atheism ? But you hold not the scales of justice even ; for, 
instigated by headstrong passions, and driven on also by the 
invisible whips of evil demons, you take great care we shall 
suffer, though you care not for what ; for ^ verily I must tell 

sufferings and prodigious patience ; he saw that their principles were above 
the standard of the best philosophy, and what they taught they lived, and 
consequently that such good people must have good reason for what they 
did and suffered so extraordinarily. "I thought with myself," saith he, 
"that it was not possible for such persons to wallow in vice and sensuality, 
it being the interest of the wicked and voluptuous to avoid death, to dis- 
semble with princes and magistrates, and to do anything to save their 
skins." And this, from a Platonic, brought him over to be a Christian. 
— Apol. i., according to the Cologne ed. p. 50. 

* This he also repeats in his other Apology ; and how current this opinion 



The First Apology of Jtistin Martyr. (7) 

you that heretofore these impure spirits, under various appari- 
tions, went into the daughters of men and defiled boys, and 
dressed up such scenes of horror that such r.s entered not into 
the reasons of things, but judged by appearance only, stood 
aghast at the spectres ; and, being shrunk up with fear and 
amazement, and never imagining them to be devils, called 
them gods, and invoked them by such titles as every devil was 
pleased to nickname himself by. When Socrates, therefore, 
by dint of true reason, diligently applied himself to bring these 
hidden works of darkness to light, and to rescue mankind from 
the impositions of devils, then these very devils struck in with 
men of the same black spirit and delight in mischief, to get 
Socrates taken off for an ungodly wicked fellow and an intro- 
ducer of new demons.^ The same train have they laid against 
us, and are working our ruin with all their might. For not only 
Socrates employed his share of reason among the Greeks to 
argue them out of these impostures, but even the very Logos, 
or Reason itself, took upon Him the form and nature of a 
man to destroy the same kingdom of darkness among the 
barbarians ; upon Whose word it is that we aver these demons 
to be not only not good, but evil and abominable spirits, 
whose actions men of any affection for virtue would be 

was before and after the time of Justin you may see in the Notes ad 
Spicileg. Pair. Scec. i. p. 369. They concluded these evil spirits to have 
a finer sort of body, which was refreshed from the nidours and streams of 
the sacrifices ; and from the amazing power they exercised upon mankind, 
together with a mistaken passage in Scripture, as I have shown in my 
Notes upon Tertullian, chap, xxii., arose this opinion. 

^ That when Socrates was setting up the worship of one God at Athens, 
one article of Melitus against him was, that he was ^ A610;, an atheist, and 
an introducer of strange gods, see the forementioned Apol. of Plato, p. 18 ; 
and in what sense Socrates and other virtuous philosophers are said to have 
been partakers of the Divine Logos, I will show hereafter. I keep to the 
term Logos in the English, because I think it less ambiguous, and more 
expressive of the personality of the Son of God than barely the Word, as 
we render it in St. John, and because Justin Martyr is thought to be some- 
thing in particular, as you will see anon, in the explanation of it. 



(8) The First Apology of Jicstin Martyr, 

ashamed to imitate ; and for this worshipful reason is it that 
we are branded with the name of Atheist.^ 

VI. And thus far we frankly confess the charge, that with 
respect to the gods in worship among you we are atheists ; 
but far otherwise in respect of the most true God, the Father 
of righteousness, purity, and every virtue, a God infinitely 
removed from the least mixture or spot of evil : Him and His 
only-begotten Son (Who has instructed us in what I just now 
mentioned concerning these evil spirits, and likewise acquainted 
us with another host of good and godlike ministering spirits), 
both these, I say, together with the Spirit Who spake by the 
prophets, we worship and adore, ^ and our way of worshipping 
is in spirit and truth ; ^ and as we have been taught, so are we 

^ Christianity was called "the atheism," and by the Emperor Julian is 
seldom called by any other name. And thus Lucian ranks the Christians 
with Atheists and Epicureans. — Pseudomant. p. 828, torn. xxi. 

2 Ka) 5/^«|avT« 'VS? Tc/Aira. ko) tuv eixxuv, etc. Bellarmin Petavius, and 
other doctors of the Romish Church, have notoriously played the Jesuit 
upon this passage, and forced Justin to speak for the worship of angels in 
this manner by the help of a comma after tuvto. : " God and His Son who 
lias thus taught us, and the host of good angels, and the Spirit who spake 
by the prophets, we worship," etc. So that here we have the Third 
Person in the ever-blessed Trinity to be worshipped in the fourth place 
after the angels. But to see how knavishly they have dealt with our author 
in this place, and for a fuller explication of the words, I refer to the 
excellent Bishop Bull in his Defens. Fid. Nic. p. 70, whose sense I have 
followed ; but Dr. Cave translates it thus : " Him and His only-begotten 
Son (Who instructed us and the whole society of good angels in these 
divine mysteries)," Priynitive Christianity^ p. 13. And for this sense is 
Dr. Grabe in his Annotations. It appears, indeed, from the apostle's 
caveat in his Epistle to the Colossians, that angel-worship crept into the 
Church very early, but it was always cried out against, and at last publicly 
condemned by the whole Laodicean Council, Can. 35 ; and, besides, you 
will quickly find Justin, in this very Apology^ saying that " God only is to 
be worshipped," and repeating the Trinity of Persons as the object of 
worship, without any mention of angels. 

3 Aoya; x«« ctKnSua., I translate "spirit and truth," according to that of 
St. John in wnvi^tx-Tt xaJ ukn^ilu, to which Sylburgh says they allude. 



The First Apology of Justin Martyr. (9) 

ready to communicate the same freely to every one that is 
wiUing to learn. 

VII. But perhaps it will be objected that some Christians 
have been taken up and convicted as evil-doers. Well, I will 
grant the objection and more ; not only that some, but many, 
and at many times, have been thus duly convicted upon a fair 
trial ; but then I must tell you again that you condemned not 
the persons aforesaid as criminals, but as Christians. More- 
over, we confess that as all the sects in general among the 
Greeks went under the common name of philosopher, though 
extremely different in opinions, so truly among the barbarians^ 
the professors of this new wisdom, whether in reality or appear- 
ance only, go all by the same title, and are denominated 
Christians ; wherefore we pray that all those who are indicted 
by the name of Christian may be examined as to their actions, 
and that every person convicted may suffer as an evil-doer, and 
not as a Christian ;- and if he be found not guilty, that he may 
be discharged as a Christian who has done nothing worthy of 
punishment. And as to our false accusers, far be it from us 
to desire you to punish them ^ — their own painful wickedness, 
and utter ignorance of all that is good and amiable, is punish- 
ment in abundance. 

VIII. I could wish you would take this also into considera- 
tion, that what we say is really for your own good ; for it is in 
our power at any time to escape your torments, by denying the 
faith when you question us about it. But we scorn to purchase 

* ** Clemens Alexandrinus often calls the Jews * barbarians ; ' and Epi- 
phanius calls Christianity 'the barbarism.'" — Lang. 

2 "And not as a Christian," in allusion to that of St. Peter, i Pet. 

iv. IS; 

3 ah yap To7s xccTiyopovvTus KoXa,Z,iiv vfjLa; a^iu'crof/,iy. This relates to the 
rescript of Adrian, wherein severe penalties are threatened to the false 
accusers of Christians. 



(lo) The First Apology of Justin Martyr. 

life at the expense of a lie;^ for our souls are winged with a 
desire of a life of eternal duration and purity, of an immediate 
conversation with God the Father and Maker of all things ; ^ 
we are in haste to be confessing and finishing our faith, being 
fully persuaded that we shall arrive at this beatific state if we 
approve ourselves to God by our works, and express our 
passion by our obedience for that divine life which is never 
interrupted by any clashing evil. But to lay before you, in 
short, what we expect, and what we have learned from Christ, 
and what we teach the world, take it as follows : Plato and 
we are both alike agreed ^ as to a future judgment, but differ 
about the judges — Rhadamanthus and Minos are his judges, 
Christ ours. And moreover we say that the souls of the 
wicked, being reunited to the same bodies, shall be consigned 
over to eternal torments, and not, as Plato will have it, to the 
period of a thousand years only.^ But if you will affirm this to 

^ Mental reservation was a thing unknown to the primitive Christians ; 
they looked upon a lie as bad in all, but monstrous in a Christian — as being 
a renunciation of that truth to which they had engaged themselves in 
baptism, and therefore would not lie to save their lives. Accordingly 
Tertullian rejects the notion of saving life by equivocating with the utmost 
scorn and contempt. — Apol. c. 27. 

- " A Christian," says Tertullian, " thanks his judges for condemning 
him," Apol. c. 46. " And when Lucius was charged by Urbicus for being 
a Christian, because he offered to speak for one he thought had hard 
measure, he immediately confessed the charge, and was forthwith con- 
demned, and thanked his judge for so doing. "—/wjA Mar. Apol. ii. p. 43. 
"And when Arrius Antoninus, Proconsul of Asia, saw the Christians 
voluntarily come thronging to execution, he ordered some few only to be 
executed, crying out to the rest : ' O unhappy people, if you have such a 
mind to die, have you not halters and precipices enough to end your lives 
with, but you must come here for execution?'" — Tertul. ad Scap. c. iv. 
p. 71. So certain their hopes and so strong their passions for the enjoy- 
ments of the other world. 

3 uxaruv Ti of^oius. — Vtd. Plat, in Gorgia, tom. i, edit. Serrani, p. 524, 
and in Apol. Socrat. 

* Oy,-^;« ;^<Xiavra£T^ Xfloioii. — Vid. Plat. Timcpum, p. 42, tom. 3, edit. 
Serran. This passage of Justin is express from the eternity of hell torments, 



The First Apology of Jtistin Martyr. ( 1 1 ) 

be incredible or impossible, there is no help but you must fall 
from error to error, till the day of judgment convinces you we 
are in the right. 

IX. But we cannot vouchsafe to worship with numerous 
victims, and garlands of flowers, the work of men's hands,^ — 
what you must help into the temple, and being so placed 
think fit to dub them gods ; for we know them to be senseless, 
inanimate idols, and in nothing resembling the form of God 
(for we cannot conceive God to be anywise like what is drawn 
to represent and honour Him by), but in imitation only of 
those evil spirits who have imposed upon the world under such 
titles and apparitions. Biit what need I mention to such 
knowing persons as you are how the artists manage the subject- 
matter of their gods, how they hack and hew it, and cast it and 
hammer it, and not seldom from vessels of dishonour; by 
changing their figure only, and giving them another turn by 
the help of art, out comes a worshipful set of things you call 
gods. This we look upon not only as the highest flight of 
human folly, but as the most injurious affront to the true God, 

and is a clear comment upon that place of Justin in his TrypJio, where 
this eternity of torments may seem doubtful. — A/ Ti {-^vxi^ai) Kokx^ovrai eVt* 
av avTOis Kcti iivai, koc) KoXdZ^iffSai, o Bio; 0iXri, Dial. CltVl Tryph. 223. 

^ 'axx' oVh\ htrixi; ToXXaTs kki •ffXaxa.ls avSuv. "The primitive Christians 
startled at everything that had but the least symbolizing with the heathen 
idolatry ; they looked upon the very making of idols, without any design 
to worship them, as an unlawful trade, and inconsistent with Christianity." 
— Tertul. de Idolat. Can. 6, p. 88. '* The Council of Ancyra condemned 
those to a two years' suspension from the sacrament, who sat down with 
their heathen friends upon their festivals in their idol-temples, though they 
touched not one bit that was offered to the idol." — Can. 7. "Nay, if a 
Christian did but wear a garland (a thing usually done by the heathen 
priests) he was excommunicated for two years ; nay, if he did but go up 
to the Capitol to see the Gentile sacrifices, and did not see them, he was 
punished as if he did."— C^/za7. Illiber. Vid. not. Albaspin. Can. 55, p. 69. 
Can. 59, p, 71 : Happy had it been for Christendom had this aversion 
to idols continued to this day. 



( 1 2 ) The First Apology of Justin Martyr. 

Who is a God of glory and form ineffable, thus to transfer His 
incommunicable Name ^ upon such corruptible and helpless 
things as wood and stone. Besides, the artificers of what you 
worship are the lewdest of men, and, not to mention particu- 
lars, practised in all sorts of wickedness, as you yourselves are 
very sensible of; men who debauch the girls while they are 
helping them to make your gods. Oh ! stupidity of men as 
thunderstruck ! that ever you should let such beasts have a 
hand in making your gods, and put them and the temples 
which hold them under the protection of such villains, never 
reflecting what an execrable crime it is, either to think or say, 
that men have the care and keeping of the gods ! 

X. And while we look upon God as the Giver of all good 
things, we can never think He stands in need of the material 
and gross oblations of men; but we are taught, and most 
firmly believe and know, that they only are the acceptable 
worshippers of God who form their minds by the mind eternal, 
and express it in temperance, justice, humanity, and such other 
virtues as are the essential excellences of the Divine Nature, or 
the more proper inmost perfections of Him Who is a God 
unnameable ; ^ and this Almighty Being, so good in Himself, 
made all things in the beginning for the good of man out of a 

' "Of . . . \'7fo)io(t.otX,-.Tcn. To this purpose we find in the Book of Wisd. 
xiii. and xiv. 21, " They did ascribe unto stones and stocks the incom- 
municable Name." 

^ *' A God unnameable." This is a title we have more than once in this 
Apology, and is very frequent in the other writings of this martyr, particu- 
larly in his first Apology according to the vulgar editions : ovafi.a, tea.) rf 
fivTuv •xa.rfi 6itov uyivvTiTM c'vti, ovk 'iffTiv, etc., p. 44. In these and the 
words following Justin teaches that God the Father and the Son have no 
proper names, but appellations only, which we give them upon the account 
of their good works and actions, etc. ; and the reason he gives for this 
assertion is this :— that the unbegotten God being eternal, and His Son 
eternally coexisting with the Father, there could be none before Them to 
impose a name upon Them. 



The First Apology of Justin Martyr. (13) 

chaos of rude ill-favoured matter ; and they who walk accord- 
ing to His will, and demonstrate their worthiness by their 
works, we are sure will be admitted into the Divine presence, 
there to reign with Him, where corruption and suffering never 
come. For as He created us at first, when we were not, so by 
the same power will He restore us to being again, and crown 
with the immortal enjoyment of Himself such as have made 
it their choice to please their Maker ; for though we had no 
choice in our creation, yet in our regeneration we have ; for 
God persuades only, and draws us gently in our regeneration, 
by co-operating freely with those rational powers He has 
bestowed upon us. And we are verily of opinion that it would 
be for the interest of all men living not only to tolerate the 
learning of the Christian faith, but to give it all the public 
encouragement possible ; for that inward conscientious dis- 
charge of our several duties, which human laws can never 
reach, the wisdom which is from above would bring about 
effectually, were it not for those false and atheistical accusa- 
tions which are sowed about the world by diabolical spirits, 
who take advantage to strike in with that original sin and 
proneness to all evil that reigns in our nature, and which is 
sure to enter into confederacy with them ; but of all their 
accusations we are entirely innocent. 

XI. But upon the first word you hear of our expectations of 
a kingdom, 1 you rashly conclude it must needs be a kingdom 

^ The primitive Christians were so warmed with the expectation of a 
Kingdom in the Heavens, that they did little else but prepare to die, and 
took the first opportunity they could of getting out of the world ; and 
being continually discoursing of, and comforting one another with the 
hopes of this Kingdom, were overheard by their enemies, and falsely accused 
as treasonable affecters of the empire, when alas 1 (as Justin Martyr here 
assures the emperors) they meant nothing less ; and what contributed very 
much to this passion for death was an opinion they generally had of the 
day of judgment being near at hand, a terrible day, which they earnestly 
prayed they might not be spectators of. This opinion was started early, as 



(14) The First Apology of Justin Martyr. 

upon earth, notwithstanding all we can say that it is one in 
Heaven, and though you have such an experimental proof to 
the contrary from our professing ourselves Christians upon 
examination, when we know death to be the certain conse- 
quence of such a profession. But were our thoughts fixed upon 
a kingdom of this world, we would surely deny our religion for 
the safety of our lives, and have recourse to all the methods of 
concealment to secure us in a whole skin against that good 
day we expect. But since our hopes do not fasten upon things 
present, the preservation of our lives is the least of our con- 
cern, because we know our murderers can cut us short but a 
few days ; for all must die. 

XII. I must tell you likewise that of all men living we are 
the greatest promoters of peace, and bring you in the most 
powerful auxiliaries to establish it in your dominions, by teach- 
ing that it is impossible for any worker of iniquity, any covetous 
or insidious person, any one, either vicious or virtuous, to hide 
himself from God ; and that every one is stepping forward into 
everlasting misery or happiness according to his works. And if 
all men were once fully possessed with a notion of these things, 
who would make the bold adventure to embrace the pleasures 
of sin for a season, with his eyes upon eternal fire at the end 
of the enjoyment? Who would not strive all he could to 
check himself upon the brink of ruin, and to adorn his mind 
with such virtue as might give him admission to the good 
things of God, and secure him from everlasting vengeance ? 
But as to the penalties of your laws, offenders are not so careful 
about lying hid from them, because they know you to be but 
men, and therefore possible to be put upon, and upon the score 

appears by that caution given by St. Paul to the Thessalonians about it 
(2 Thess. ii. 3, 4) ; and it lasted for some ages after, as is evident from 
several places in Tertullian, de cult, famin. lib. 2, c. 9, ad uxor. lib. i, 
c. 5, which I mention here once for all, because the reader will meet with 
this opinion in the Apology before him. 



The First Apology of Jicstin Martyr. (15) 

of that possibility are encouraged to sin on. But were they 
fully persuaded of the impossibility of concealing anything from 
God, not only the works of their hands, but even the motions 
of their minds, the direful storm of wrath they see just dropping 
upon their heads, would needs make them prepare with all 
speed for a better course of life, as you yourselves will grant. 

XIII. But you seem to be afraid that such a notion of 
(jod's Omniscience should force every one to be good, and so 
quite and clean spoil the trade of punishing. Executioners 
perhaps may be afraid of this, but pious princes surely never 
can. But such fears, I am verily persuaded, are the suggestions 
of evil spirits, who get their sacrifices and worship by exacting 
upon the follies of wicked men ; but you who set up for pious 
and philosophers will not, we suppose, be drawn into the 
same unreasonable practices. But if you, like other weak 
people, will be borne down with the iniquity of the times, and 
make truth give place to custom, do your worst ; but such 
wicked princes as have no regard for truth can do no more 
than robbers in a desert, for the Logos has declared you 
shall not thrive long in your idolatrous course ; that Logos, 
Who next to God His Father we know to be the supreme and 
justest of Kings, and above all the principalities and powers in 
nature. For as all men are shy of taking up with poverty, 
suffering, or disgrace, merely for the sake of custom, so is 
every person of sense equally unwilling to do what reason 
declares is not to be done, notwithstanding it has the plea of 
custom for its practice. 

XIV. Our Master Jesus Christ, from Whom we take the 
name of Christians, the Son and Apostle ^ of that God who is 
the Supreme Lord and Maker of the universe, has foretold 

1 'Atoo-toXos. Christ is called the Apostle of God from His being sent 
by Him into the world, and is so styled in Heb. iii. I : " Consider the 
Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus." 



( i6) TJic First Apology of Just in Martyr. 

our sufferings ; which to us is a manifest confirmation of the 
truth of all His other doctrines, because we see these things 
fulfilled according to His prediction ; for this or nothing is the 
work of God, to declare a thing shall come to be, long before 
it is in being, and then to bring about that thing to pass 
according to the same declaration. 

XV. And now I m.ight spare myself the trouble of saying a 
word more, considering the truth and justice of our proposals ; 
but because I am sensible how difficult a task it is for men 
bowed down with aged ignorance to be set straight in a 
moment, and for a further satisfaction to the lovers of 
truth, I shall enlarge in its defence, knowing it not impos- 
sible to get the better of ignorance by setting matters in a 
fuller light. 

XVI. In the first place, then, it is certain we cannot justly 
be branded for atheists, we who worship the Creator of the 
universe, not with blood, libations, and incense (which we are 
sufficiently taught He stands in no need of) ; but we exalt Him 
to the best of our power with the rational service of prayers 
and praises,^ in all the oblations we make unto Him ; believing 

' Aayw ivx^ii Ka) lu^ocpiffTtois. What the Latin translator means by his 
Orafwne Precum ac gratiartwi actionis, I cannot well tell ; bvit I think he 
can by no means be right in the translation of these words. The sacrifices of 
old, both of Jew and Gentile, were offered in a corporeal way, by slaughter, 
fire, and incense, but the sacrifice of Christians is offered only Xoyw ilx^s 
Ko.) ih^a.pKTTU?, "by way of prayer and thanksgiving," as Mr. Mede translates 
these words, p. 358. So that according to this learned person these 
words are to be understood of the manner of offering ; the bread and wine, 
the matter of the Christian sacrifice, are offered Xoyixu? spiritually ; which 
the Fathers in the first Council of Nice call a.6vrui 6ui<r^Ki, " to be sacrificed 
without sacrificing rites." And this sense is further confirmed by what 
follows, where Justin argues againit the gross way of the Gentiles sacrific- 
ing, by consuming in fire what God made for our nourishment. "0<ryi 
IvvK^uis, which I translate, " to the best of our power," I take notice of only 
by the by in this place because I shall have occasion to explain it more 



The First Apology of Justin Alartyr. (17) 

this to be the only honour worthy of Him ; not to consume 
the creatures which He has given us for our use, and the com- 
fort of those that want, in the fire by sacrifice, but to approve 
ourselves thankful to Him, and to express this gratitude in the 
rational pomp of the most solemn hymns ^ at the altar in 
acknowledgment of our creation, preservation, and all the 
blessings of variety in things and seasons ; and also for the 
hopes of a resurrection to a life incorruptible, which we are 
sure to have for asking, provided we ask in faith. Who that 
knows anything of us will not confess this to be our way of 
worshipping ? And who can stigmatize such worshippers for 
atheists ? The Master Who instructed us in this kind of wor- 
ship, and Who was born for this very purpose, and crucified 
under Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea, in the reign of 
Tiberius Caesar, is Jesus Christ, Whom we know to be the 
Son of the true God, and therefore hold Him the second in 
order, and the Prophetic Spirit the third ; ^ and that we have 

fully hereafter ; only I believe the impartial reader will hardly conceive 
this passage to be a good proof for extemporary prayer. 

^ Yiof^TUi xou vfAvovs. Dr, Grabe observes that the word no/nTh often 
signifies that public pomp and pageantry which was exhibited at the 
heathen sports ; and from hence concludes that it is translated hither to 
signify those prayers which are recited with more than ordinary solemnity 
at the celebration of the Eucharist. The mention of hymns in this place, 
and not one word of them in that where Justin is giving an account of 
their way of public worship, is a plain argument that he did not design to 
acquaint them with every particular they did at their religious assemblies ; 
for there is no doubt but singing of psalms was a part of divine service, 
and as a main part too mentioned by Pliny in his Letter to Trajan — Secuin 
invicem canere — *' they sang psalms together, or alternately, or by turns ;" 
for so perhaps the words may signify. These psalms were partly David's, 
partly extemporary raptures while inspiration lasted, or set compositions 
taken out of the Holy Scriptures, or of their own composing, as you find 
in Tertul. Apol. c. 39; and this continued till the Council of Laodicea 
ordered that no psalms composed by private persons should be recited in 
the church, Can. 59. 

- Here again you see the sacred Trinity of Divine Persons mentioned in 
their order, and the Prophetic Spirit in the third place, which evidently 



( 1 8) The First Apology of Justin Martyr, 

good reason for worshipping in this subordination, I shall 
show hereafter. For here they look upon it as downright 
madness to assign to a crucified man the next place to the 
immutable, eternal God, Parent of all things,^ being entirely 
in the dark as to the mystery of this order; and therefore 
I advise you to give diligent attention while I expound it 
to you. 

XVII. But first I am to caution you against those spirits, 
which I have already accused for practising upon you, that 
they do not delude and pervert you from reading and under- 
standing what I am now proposing to your consideration ; for 
to hold you in slavery and bondage is the prize they contend 
for, and sometimes by visions in sleep, sometimes by magical 
impostures, they make sure of all such as are little concerned 
about their salvation. I could wish you would follow our 
example, who by the persuasions of the Logos have revolted 
from these spiritual wickednesses, and come over to the obedi- 
ence of the only unbegotten God, through His Son Jesus Christ. 
We, who heretofore gave ourselves a loose to women, ^ now 

shows that the interposition of angels, sect. 6, must be looked upon only 
as in a parenthesis, and that St. Justin no more interided those ministering 
spirits for the objects of Christian worship than he intended they should 
take the place of the Holy Ghost in the order of worship. 

^ The reader will find in this Apology God continually called ysvvjjra/ja 
ru)) ToivTuv and TXTipa. tuv oXav, "Maker of all things and Father of the 
universe ; " and therefore he is desired once for all to take notice that our 
author repeats this attribute so often, because some heretics in his time 
denied God to be the Maker of heaven and earth, and he expressly men- 
tions Marcion for one, sect. 35, who taught another god greater than the 
Creator of the world. 

2 0/ tuXki f/Xv 'xapvuxts x.'^ipovn?, etc. This wonderful change in manners 
is often appealed to by the primitive converts ; and that men so long bent 
to lust and passion should be set upright in a moment, I look upon as a 
miracle in morality ; for nothing but the mighty grace of God, and the 
brightest hopes of future happiness, could prevail with all sorts of men 
'bus to embrace the Christian faith at the certain expense almost of their 



The First Apology of Justin Martyr. ( 1 9) 

strictly contain within the bounds of chastity \ we, who devoted 
ourselves to magic arts, now consecrate ourselves entirely to 
the good unbegotten God ; we, who loved nothing .like our 
possessions, now produce all we have in common, and spread 
our whole stock before our indigent brethren ; we, who were 
pointed with mutual hatred and destruction, and would not so 
much as warm ourselves at the same fire with those of a 
different tribe upon the account of different institutions, now 
since the coming of Christ cohabit and diet together, and 
pray for our enemies ; and all our returns for evil are but the 
gentlest persuasives to convert those who unjustly hate us, 
that by living up to the same virtuous precepts of Christ they 
might be filled with the same comfortable hopes of obtaining 
the like happiness with ourselves, from that God Who is the 
Lord of all things. 

XVIII. But before I enter further into the explication of the 
Christian mysteries, it will not be amiss to give you a taste of 
the very doctrines delivered by Christ Himself, to show that 
we are no cheats, nor have any design to trick upon you in 
this matter, and I shall leave it to you to examine, as princes 
who are well able, whether this is not the very doctrine of 
Christ, and the same we preach to the world. His discourses 
are short and sententious, for He was no trifling sophister, but 
Christ the Power of God, and the Wisdom of God. Thus 
then He delivered Himself concerning chastity : " Whoso 
looketh upon a woman to lust after her hath committed 
adultery with her already in his heart before God " ^ (Matt. 
V. 28). "And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out; it 
is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of heaven with 

lives ; and from the bitterest enemies, and the lewdest of men, to become 
the most loving, forgiving, and chastest people in the world. 

' "O; «v ifjt.^Xi-^n, In Scripture quotations you are to observe that 
Justin does not tie himself to the very words of the text, but their sense 
only. 



(2o) The First Apology of Jtistin Martyr. 

one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell 
fire. And whosoever shall marry her that is divorced from 
her husband committeth adultery" (Matt. v. 29, 32, xix. 9). 
" And there are some which are made eunuchs of men, and 
some who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of 
heaven's sake ; but all cannot receive this saying " (Matt. xix. 
IT, 12). So that such kind of second marriages of persons 
divorced, and the very looking upon a woman to lust after 
her, which are not criminal by human laws, by our Master's 
laws are adultery ; ^ for not only the adulterer in fact but in will 
is condemned by Christ. And for good reason, because the 
inward desires, as well as the outward actions, are equally 
manifest to God. And I can produce abundance of both sexes 
who have from their childhood been disciplined unto Christ,*^ 

^ In times of persecution very many Christians abstained from marriage, 
to be freer from the cares of the world, and more expeditious in the service 
of God and their brethren ; and those who married, did it (as our Martyr 
elsewhere says) only for the sake of children, and the bringing them up in 
the Christian religion ; but the first Fathers were extremely severe against 
second marriages, looking upon them but as a better kind of adultery ; and 
by the apostolical canons such as engaged in second marriages after 
baptism were made incapable of any degree in the ministry. However, this 
severity is much abated, if it is to be understood (as some say it is) of such 
only as had two wives at once ; for we are told by a learned person that 
there were three sorts of bigamy — the first, a man's having two wives at 
once, this was condemned by the Roman laws ; the second, when the 
former wife being dead, the man married a second time ; a third, when 
for any slight cause a man put away his wife by a bill of divorce, which 
was but too frequently done, and allowed by the laws of those times, but 
condemned by the Church ; and of this last sort of bigamy many of the 
ancient canons are to be understood.— F/a^. Justell. Not. in Can. i. Cone. 
Lacd. 

'^ O'J IK rct/^cov ifxahriVYKriv. This passage, I think, is hardly capable of 
being wrested to signify less than the baptism of children ; for the Martyr 
speaks of such as had been discipled unto Christ from their childhood, and 
this discipling, we know, was by baptism (Matt, xxviii. 19, where we have 
the same word //.uhTivu) ; and these disciples, he says, also continued virgins 
all their time, which is another argument of their being baptized from their 



The First Apology of Justin Alartyr. (21) 

and lived in a constant course of spotless virginity to sixty or 
seventy years of age ; and I cannot but glory in being able to 
produce so many instances of Christian purity out of every 
nation. But why should I go about to muster up a numberless 
multitude of such who have taken leave of their intemperance, 
and come over to the Christian institution ? For Christ called 
not the just, and temperate, but the impious, incontinent, and 
unjust to repentance, according to His own saying, " I came 
not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance " (Matt, 
ix. 13) ; for our heavenly Father delights not in the correction, 
but the amendment of sinners. 

XIX. Concerning the duty of universal love, He thus 
teaches : " If ye love them which love you, what do ye more 
than other men ? For sinners do the same. But I say unto 
you. Pray for your enemies, love those that hate you, and do 
good to them which curse you and despitefully use you " 
(Matt. V. 44, 46). Concerning giving alms to the poor, and 
against vainglory in doing them. He commands thus : " Give 
to every one that asketh, and from him that w^ould borrow 
turn not away" (Matt. v. 42). "And if ye lend to them of 
whom ye hope to receive again, what thanks have ye ? 
Do not publicans the same ? " (Luke vi. 34). " Lay not 
up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and 
rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and 
steal ; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where 

childhood ; but, above all, the opposing the children to such as had changed 
from intemperance, and consequently were men, and converted and 
baptized upon a due consideration of the Christian principles. This 
opposition, I say, makes it plain to me that he meant such persons as 
were discipled into Christ, before they were capable of learning the Chris- 
tian doctrine by instruction. Now this Apology is not fifty years younger 
than St. John's Revelation, and if a person of Justin's learning and curio- 
sity was able to know such a plain matter of fact as baptism, and if the 
Martyr had sincerity enough to declare it ingenuously, then I take this to 
be a very strong proof for infant baptism. 



(2 2) The First Apology of Justin Martyr, 

moth and rust doth not corrupt " (Matt. vi. 19, 20). "For 
what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, 
and lose his own soul, or what shall a man give in exchange 
for his soul?" (Matt. xvi. 26; Luke ix. 25). "Be ye kind 
and merciful, as your Father is kind and merciful, who maketh 
His sun to rise upon sinners, on the evil and on the good " 
(Matt. V. 45, 48). " Take no thought what you shall eat, 
or what you shall put on ; are you not much better than 
birds and beasts? And yet God taketh care of them. Be 
not therefore solicitous what you shall eat, or wherewithal ye 
shall be clothed, for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye 
have need of these things. But seek ye the kingdom of God, 
and all things shall be added unto you. For where your 
treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matt. vi. 21, 25, 
26? Z'i)' "Take heed that ye do not your alms to be a 
spectacle to men, otherwise ye have no reward of your Father 
which is in heaven " (Matt. vi. i). 

XX. Concerning patience, submission, and meekness, these 
are our Master's rules: "Whosoever shall smite thee on thy 
right cheek, turn to him the other also ; ^ and him that taketh 
away thy cloak, forbid not to take thy coat also " (Matt. v. 
39, 40). " Whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause 
shall be in danger of hell-fire" (Matt. v. 21). "Whosoever shall 

^ '' Whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the 
other also." Isidore the Pelusiote upon this passage {Ep. 127, 1. 3, p. 269) 
has so truly expressed the primitive spirit, and the turn is so engaging, that 
I will not ask pardon for setting it down. ' ' The King of Heaven," says he, 
"came down to instruct the world in the laws of an heavenly conversation, 
which He has proposed in a way of conflict, quite contrary to that in the 
Olympic games, for there he that fights and conquers wins the garland ; 
here he that is beaten and bears it with patience receives the crown ; there 
he that is smitten and returns blow for blow ; here he that turns the other 
cheek is celebrated the victor in the theatre of angels ; for the Christian 
victory is measured not by revenge but patience. This is the new law of 
crowns ; this the new way of conflict and contention. " 



The First Apology of Jtistin Martyr, (23) 

compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain" (Matt. v. 41). "Let 
your Hght so shine before men, that they may see your good 
works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" (Matt. v. 16). 
A Christian hand must by no means be lifted up in resistance; 
for Christ wnll not have His disciples like the rest of the world, 
but orders them to shine with a distinguishing patience and 
meekness, and to win men over from their sins by such gentle 
arts of conversion. And I could give you a pfoof of the 
influence of such bright examples from many converts among 
us, who from men of violence and oppression were transformed 
into quite another nature, perfectly overcome by the passive 
courage of their Christian neighbours, or by observing the new 
astonishing patience of such injured Christians as they chanced 
to travel with, or the experience they had of their fidelity in 
their dealings. 

XXI. Concerning swearing not at all, and a perpetual 
regard to truth in all our communication, He thus ordains : 
" Swear not at alV but let your yea be yea, and your nay, nay; 
for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil" (Matt. 

^ Some of the ancient Fathers from this text, "Swear not at all," held 
the taking of an oath unlawful ; but far the greatest part of them were 
of another opinion, and interpreted this prohibition, of swearing by the 
creatures (which was the case of the Jews, and which our Saviour and St. 
James principally aim at, and which is countenanced by the text when 
rightly pointed), and of vain, rash, and false swearing. It would be well, 
indeed, if the honesty of Christians now-a-days did supersede the necessity 
of oaths, and that their majesty was not prostituted by their multitude 
and the meanness of the occasion ; but that it is lawful to take an oath, we 
have our Master's practice, who answered upon oath ; and St. Paul's often 
calling God to witness, to justify the thing, and the military oath taken by 
the Christian soldiers, put it out of doubt ; the form of which is thus set 
down by Vegetius, an heathen, viz. — " They swore by God, Christ, and 
the Holy Spirit, and the majesty of the emperor, which next to God is to 
be loved and honoured by mankind." And this you will find exactly 
agrees with the account given long before of the Christians by Tertullian, 
Apol. c. 32. 



(24) The Fit's I Apology of Justin Martyr. 

V. 37). Concerning the worship of God only, He thus 
appoints : " This is the first Commandment, Thou shalt 
worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve 
with all thy heart and with all thy strength" (Matt. iv. 10), 
the Lord thy God Which made thee. And a certain person 
coming to Him, and addressing Him in these words, " Good 
Master," He returned him this answer, " There is none good 
but God only" (Matt. xix. 16, 17), Who made all things. 

XXH. But those now who are found not to make His 
precepts the rule of their lives are to be looked upon as no 
Christians, let them say never such fine things of His law ; for 
it is not the sayers, but the doers, that shall be justified. " Not 
every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the 
kingdom of heaven ; but he that doth the will of my Father 
which is in heaven. Whosoever heareth these sayings of 
mine and doeth them, heareth Him that sent me. Many 
will say unto me, Lord, Lord, have we not eaten and drunk 
in Thy name, and done wonders ? And then will I say 
unto them. Depart from me, ye that work iniquity " (Matt, 
vii. 21-24). "Then shall there be wailing and gnashing of 
teeth, when the righteous shall shine forth as the sun, but 
the wicked shall be turned into everlasting fire" (Matt. xiii. 
42, 43). " Many shall come to you in my name in sheep's 
clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall 
know them by their fruits. But every tree that bringeth 
not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire " 
(Matt. vii. 15, 16, 19). But Christians in word only, who 
talk these precepts, but live them not, such we beg may smart 
for their hypocrisy. 

XXHL As to tribute and custom,^ no men living take such 

' To this purpose TertuUian argues, Apol. c. 42, that though they would 
not pay taxes for the maintenance of the heathen temples, yet they made 
sufficient amends for this in their faithful payments of all the rest. The 



The First Apology of Justin Martyr. (25) 

pains to pay their collectors so faithfully as we do, who pay 
them in obedience to our Lord's command ; for when some 
came to Him with this question, " Is it lawful to give tribute 
unto Caesar or not ? Tell me (says He) whose image this 
money bears ? They say unto Him, Caesar's. Then saith He 
unto them. Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are 
Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's " (Matt, 
xxii. 17, 20, 21). Accordingly, therefore, we render unto God 
only the tribute of worship,^ and to you a cheerful obedience 
in all things else, acknowledging you to be emperors and 
rulers upon earth, and withal praying that imperial majesty 
may be always found in the company of true wisdom. ^ But 
if neither our prayers, nor all our contributions for the good of 
the public, will touch you with any concern for Christians, we 
shall be no losers ; for we believe, or rather are fully assured, 
that every one according to his demerits shall suffer in eternal 
fire, and shall give a strict account to God in proportion to the 
power he is intrusted with, as Christ has declared, " For unto 
whomsoever God has given much, of him shall be much 
required " (Luke xii. 48). 

XXIV. Turn back your thoughts upon the past emperors, 
and you will find they all died like other men ; and could you 
but discover one to be in a state of insensibility, you would 

truth is, the primitive Christians were strictly conscientious in everything, 
but in nothing more (as you will find in these Apologies) than in what 
related to the public, and concerned their duty and obedience to rulers 
and governors, and those too very often the worst of men. 

^ ©£o» fjtXt f^ovav TpaffKvvoufjiiv. We worship God alone. Angels, therefore, 
are not to be worshipped, and Christ and the Holy Ghost Which are 
worshipped are consequently God. 

■^ Teitullian, likewise, Apol. c. 39, tells us, " It was a solemn part of 
the Church in his time to pray for the happiness and prosperity of the 
princes under whom they lived. And the Church of England is so truly 
primitive in this point, that her liturgy has been thought too much clogged 
with prayers for kings." 



(26) The First Apology of Justin Martyr. 

make a welcome discovery to the wicked world ; but since all 
departed souls continue in sensation/ and everlasting fire is 
treasured up for the unrighteous, let me advise you to look 
well about you, and lay these things seriously to heart. For 
even necromancy,^ and the inspection of the entrails of sound 
children, and the calling out the souls of dead men, and what 
the magicians term dream-senders and familiars, and many 
other practices of the dealers in this black art, may induce you 
to believe that souls after death are in a state of sensation ; 
and, moreover, those persons who are violently caught up, and 
dashed down again by departed spirits,^ and who pass among 
you all for demoniacs and mad, and likewise the Amphilochian, 
Dodonaean, Pythian, and other like oracles, and also the 
doctrines of many of your writers, such as Empedocles, 
Pythagoras, Plato, and Socrates, and Homer's Ditch^ and 
Ulysses's Visit to the Infernal Shades^ ajtd their Confahulatiotis 
with him, — these, I say, all argue the immortality of human 



1 Here we have two things express!)' asserted by Justin Martyr ; one, 
that all departed souls are in a state of sensation, against Dr. Coward's 
notion of their being in the same senseless state with the body till the 
resurrection ; the other, that all the wicked whatsoever shall suffer eternal 
torments, against the learned Mr. Dodwell, in his Epistolary Discourse, 
" proving from the Scriptures and the First Fathers that the soul is a 
principle naturally mortal," etc. 

2 The several species of magic you will find mentioned by Tertullian, 
Apol. c. 23. The sum of what he drives at in this section is to prove the 
immortality of human souls from the practice of magicians, in raising up, 
and conversing with departed spirits ; the inspection of the entrails of 
young children supposes that the souls of these children stood by and assisted 
the inspectors in the revelation of things to come. For a more particular 
account of this horrid practice, and for the meaning of the words ovupo-rofA'jroi 
and -rupihfiot, I refer the learned reader to Dr. Grabe's Notes upon this 
Apology. 

^ Such were the two demoniacs in the country of the Gergesenes, who 
came out of the tombs, "exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by 
that way" (Matt. viii. 28); and from their dwelling only among tombs, 
these spirits were concluded to be the souls of dead men. 



The First Apology of Justin Alartyr, (27) 

souls, and several others of the same opinion about spirits 
with ourselves, with whom we desire the like treatment, as 
having not a less, but a much greater faith in God than they 
ever had, being under a full expectation of being restored to 
these bodies, after they are dead and rotten, because we know 
that with God nothing is impossible. - 

XXV. And truly what to any considering person would 
seem more incredible, were it not that we ourselves are in a 
body, than to be told that it is possible for bones and nerves 
and flesh to be spun out from a seminal drop, into such a 
thing as we see man to be ; I speak this by way of hypothesis ; 
supposing, I say, before you were in the state you now are, 
and generated of such parents, any one should come and 
show you this seminal drop and the picture of man, and 
withal aver it to be possible for such a creature to rise out of 
such a principle, which of you would think it credible before 
he saw the production ? Not one, I daresay, would deny it to 
be impossible. In the same manner you are now possessed 
with a disbelief of a resurrection, because you never saw a 
person rise again from the dead : but as at first you would 
not believe it possible for this little speck to work itself into a 
man, though now you see it true in fact, so ought you to 
conclude it as practicable for human bodies covered in the 
earth, and dead like seed, to spring again in their season at 
the Almighty Word, and put on incorruption. But how suit- 
able such a power is to God which those cut out for Him who 
affirm everything to depart into that original matter from 
whence it came, and after that departure to be gone for ever, 
and irrevocable even beyond the call of God Himself; whether 
this, I say, is a becoming notion of Almighty Power, I will not 
now inquire ; but this I will venture to say, that these gentle- 
men would never have believed it possible that themselves 
and the whole world could have been what they now find 
they are, and from such principles. 



(28) The First Apology of Jiistin Mm^tyr. 

XXVI. But we have justly presumed it the most rational 
to believe what may seem inconsistent with the nature of 
things, and to men impossible, rather than stand out and 
imitate others in a foolish infidelity, especially since our 
Master Christ hath taught us,^ "That the things which are 
impossible with men are possible with God" (Luke xviii. 27) ; 
and likewise given orders, " Not to fear them that kill the 
body, and after that have no more that they can do ; but fear 
Him who after He hath killed is able to destroy both soul and 
body in hell" (Matt. x. 28). 

XXVn. Now hell is that place where the wicked livers, 
and such as disbelieve the revelations of God by Christ, 
shall suffer ; and the Sibyl and Hystaspes hath both given 
out that this whole system of corruptibles shall be destroyed 
by fire ; ^ nay, the Stoics have a conceit that God Himself shall 
be resolved into fire, and that there shall rise a new world 
refined from the ruins of the old ; but we conceive far more 
honourably of God than to range the Creator of the universe 
among things subject to alteration. 

XXVni. If, then, we hold some opinions near of kin to the 
poets and philosophers in greatest repute among you, and 
others of a diviner strain, and far above out of their sight, 
and have demonstration on our side into the bargain, why are 
we to be thus unjustly hated, and to stand distinguished in 
misery above the rest of mankind ? For in saying that all things 

' This great philosopher and Christian martyr was so far from thinking 
with our modern reasoners, that his faith ought to go no further than clear- 
ness and connection of ideas, that he thought it reasonable, and becoming 
finite minds, to believe beyond the ken of mortal eye, and to conclude that 
possible to God which to us might seem impossible. 

2 ** Esse quoque in fatis reminiscitur affore tempus, 
Quo Mare, quo Tellus, correptaque Regia Cseli 
Ardeat, et mundi moles operosa laboret." 

— Ovid, Mefain. lib. i. 



The First Apology of Justin Martyr. (29) 

were made in this beautiful order by God, wliat do we seem 
to say more than Plato? When we teach a general con- 
flagration, what do we teach more than the Stoics ? When we 
assert departed souls to be in a state of sensibiHt)^, and the 
wicked to be in torments, but the good free from pain and in 
a blissful condition, we assert no more than your poets and 
philosophers. By opposing the worship of the works of men's 
hands, we concur with Menander the comedian, and such as 
affirm the workman to be greater than his work ; and by 
declaring the Logos, the First-begotten of God, our Master 
Jesus Christ, to be born of a Virgin without any human 
mixture, and to be crucified and dead, and to have rose again 
and ascended into heaven, we say no more in this than what 
you say of those whom you style the sons of Jove. 

XXIX. For you need not be told what a parcel of sons 
the writers most in vogue among you assign to Jove ; ^ there 
is Mercury, Jove's interpreter, in imitation of the Logos, 
in worship among you, and your grand teacher ; there is 
^sculapius, the physician smitten by a bolt of thunder, and 

' The kingdom of darkness had well-nigh overcast the wliole world 
when the Sun of Righteousness rose upon it. The worship of false gods 
obtained everywhere but among the Jews, and this universal idolatry 
being one of the greatest obstructions to the light of the gospel, and the 
prevailing sin of these times, the reader must be content to find the first 
Christian apologists very large upon this head, in order to root out this 
pack of vanities, and to ridicule and argue them out of the world ; and be- 
cause the worship of a crucified man was that which they mostly stuck at, 
Justin makes a parallel, and shows that this Christ, the God of Christians, 
neither as the Son of God, nor of a Virgin, nor as a crucified man, could 
justly be objected against and denied divine worship by those who had 
so many sons and daughters of Jove, and such too as suffered death, in 
constant worship amongst themselves. But this kind of idolatry being 
now quite out of doors, I shall not trouble the reader with any notes upon 
the gods of the heathen, as thinking it altogether unedifying, and there- 
fore, once for all, refer the more curious to the remarks of Dr. Grabe in 
his edition of this Apology. 

G ' 



(30) The First Apology of Justin Martyr. 

after that ascending into heaven ; there is Bacchtis, torn to 
pieces ; and Hercules, burnt to get rid of his pains ; there are 
Pollux and Castor, the sons of Jove by Leda, and Perseus by 
Danne, and the mortal Bellerophon, who fell from his Pegasus ; 
not to mention Ariadne, and others like her, translated into 
constellations, according to your writers. Moreover, I would 
fain know why you always deify the departed emperors, and 
have a fellow at hand to make affidavit that he saw Caesar 
mount to heaven from the funeral pile? Nor can I think 
there is any need of repeating to such knowing persons the 
extravagances recorded of every son of Jove, only to put you 
in mind that they are recorded for the better corrupting and 
improving young students in the arts of debauchery ; for every 
one thinks it noble to equal the gods in wickedness. But far 
be it from men of sense to harbour such opinions of the gods, 
namely, that their Jove, the supreme and father of all the gods, 
should be a parricide, and the son of a parricide, and be 
captivated by the vilest lusts, and descended upon Ganimede 
and a crew of notorious adulteresses, and beget children after 
his own likeness. But as I have said, these are the stratagems 
of wicked spirits ; whereas we teach that such only should be 
crowned with a blessed immortality who have imitated God 
in virtue ; and those who have lived wickedly, and not re- 
pented to the amendment of their lives, we believe shall be 
punished in fire everlasting. 

XXX. As to the Son of God called Jesus, should we allow 
Him to be nothing more than man, yet the title of the Son of 
God is very justifiable upon the account of His wisdom ; for is 
not God styled by your own writers. Father of Gods and Men ? 
But now if we say that the Logos of God is properly the 
l^egotten of God, by a generation quite different from that of 
men, as I have already mentioned, yet even this I say is no 
more than what you might very well tolerate, considering you 
have your Mercury in worship under the title of the Word and 



The First Apology of Jitstin Martyr. (31) 

Messenger of God. As to the objection of our Jesus being 
crucified, I say that suffering was common to all the fore- 
mentioned sons of Jove, but only they suffered another kind 
of death ; so that Christ does not seem at all inferior to them 
upon the score of the difference of His suffering, but much 
superior even in this very respect of His passion, as I shall 
prove in the following discourse, or rather indeed have proved 
already; for the excellency of every one is to be judged of by 
the nature and end of his actions. As to His being born of 
a Virgin, you have your Perseus to balance that; as to His 
_ curing the lame and the paralytic, and such as v^ere cripples 
from their birth, this is little more than what you say of your 
^Esculapius. 

XXXI. But in order to make it more plain that whatever 
we have declared from Christ and His preceding prophets is 
true and older than any of your writers, and that we desire to 
be believed, not because we deliver many the same things 
with them, but because we deliver the truth, and nothing but 
the truth, and that Jesus alone is properly the Son of God, as 
being the Logos, and First-begotten, and Power of God, and 
by His counsel was made man, and taught these doctrines 
for the conversion and restoration of mankind, before Whose 
coming in our flesh these same evil spirits, by their instru- 
ments, the poets, dressed up fables to represent these things 
as already past and over, on purpose to defeat the good 
designs of His coming; just such another pack of scandalous 
wicked lies they have at present invented to render Christians 
odious, for which they cannot produce one witness, nor any- 
thing like proof, as I shall presently make appear. 

XXXn. But first, I cannot but take notice that though we 
hold some opinions like those of the Greeks, yet the name of 
Christ is the only thing we are hated for, and though never 
so innocent, yet we are dragged to execution like criminals ; 



(32) The First Apology of Justin Martyi', 

while others in other places have the liberty of worshipping 
trees, and rivers, and mice, and cats, and crocodiles, and 
many other such like silly animals; nor do the same things 
neither pass universally for deities, but different countries have 
different gods; insomuch that they charge each other with 
irreligion for not worshipping the same deities ; and yet, for- 
sooth, the only thing you accuse us for is for not worshipping 
the same gods, for not offering libations, and the nidors of 
fat, and plaited garlands, and victims to departed spirits 
and you need not be told that the same deities obtain not 
everywhere, for what serves some for a god serves others for 
a sacrifice. 

XXXIII. I must tell you in the next place that we 
Christians out of all parts of the world, who formerly were 
worshippers of the sons of Semele and Latona, Bacchus and 
Apollo, whose abominable amours and practices with men it 
is a shame to mention, and who, ^adored Proserpina and 
Venus, a brace of goddesses whose mysteries you now cele- 
brate, one stark, staring mad for Adonis, the other ravished 
by Aidoneus or Pluto ; we who adored ^sculapius; or any 
of those who pass among you for gods, now through Jesus 
Christ have them all in the greatest contempt, though at the 
utmost peril of our hves ; but dedicate ourselves to the ser- 
vice of the Unbegotten Impassible God, who never had, we 
are sure, any affair with Antiope and such like, nor anything 
to do with Ganimede, nor ever stood in need of the help of 
the hundred-handed giant which your Jove is said to have 
obtained at the suit of Thetis, nor ever solicitous to show his 
gratitude for his deliverance that her son Achilles should have 
ample satisfaction for being deprived of his harlot Briseis, and 
revenge the affront at the expense of many of the Grecians' 
lives. We heartily pity those who can believe such stuff about 
the gods they worship, but we know that the wicked spirits 
are at the bottom of all these impostures. 



The First Apology of Justin Martyr. (33) 

XXXIV. Thirdly, it is notorious that after Christ's ascen- 
sion into heaven, these same accursed spirits furnished out a 
set of men who gave out themselves to be gods ; and yet 
were you so far from punishing such villains that you did them 
the greatest honour. For there is Simon, a certain Samaritan 
of the village Gitthon, who in Claudius Caesar's time, by his 
magic arts with the powers of darkness, did such wonderful 
feats in the imperial city of Rome, that he gained the reputa- 
tion of a god, and accordingly is honoured by you, like your 
other gods, with a statue erected upon the Tiber between the 
two bridges^, with this Latin inscription, " Simoni Deo Sancto," 
"To Simon the Holy God.''^ And the Samaritans, almost in 

1 John Daille, in his Abuse of the Fathers (for that ought to be the 
title of the book),— instead of recommending the authority of such men, 
who lived so near the apostles both in point of time and virtue, instead of 
insisting upon their general agreement in articles fundamental, and other 
truly admirable and edifying excellences in their writings,— this author, I 
say, chiefly pleases himself in picking holes, and exposing what he calls 
faults, in the best light for a malicious eye ; like an ill-natured painter, 
who draws a shade over all the beauties of a face, and mainly employs his 
pencil to magnify scars and pockholes ; and this passage, among others, he 
has pitched upon for the discredit of Justin Martyr. " The good Father," 
says he in his fleering way, "was mistaken, and instead of Semoni read 
Simoni, and for Sanco, Sancto ; whereas our learned critics now inform 
us it was only an inscription to one of the pagan demi-gods, ' Semoni Deo 
Sanco.' " The learned Dr. Grabe, who is just the reverse of John Daille, 
and employs his learning to keep us upon the ancient bottom, and justify 
the Fathers from the errors of transcribers, yet even he is of opinion that 
our Justin was imposed upon in this inscription; and Valesius himself 
concludes so likewise ; and the main grounds they go upon is, that in the 
last 'age there was a statue dug up with this inscription, "Semoni Sango 
Deo Fidio Sacrum." If this should be a mistake of our Justin, it is no 
great matter ; but it is a mistake wherein Irenasus, Tertullian, Eusebius, 
Augustin all concur. But when I consider that our Martyr himself was 
a Samaritan, and lived in the next age ; that he was a person of great 
learning and gravity, of a genius wonderfully inquisitive about matters 
of this nature ; that he was at this time at Rome, where every one,^ no 
doubt, could inform him (if he had not Latin enough for the inscription) 
what strange god this was the statue of, as easily as any one about London 



\ 

(34) The First Apology of Justin Martyr, 

general, though very few of other nations, confess and wor- 
ship him as the first and principal god ; and a certain Helena 
who strolled about with him at that time, and had been a 
common prostitute in the stews, they entide the next intelli- 
gence to him; and one Menander likewise, a Samaritan, of 
the village Capparetasa, and a disciple of Simon, set on work 
by the same demons, and residing at Antioch, imposed upon 
many by the same magic arts, as we very well know, and 
wrought up his followers into a persuasion that they should 
never die ; ^ and there are some of his sect who are possessed 
with the same frenzy to this day. 

could tell now whose the statue is at Charing Cross ; that he presented this 
Apology to the Emperors and Senate of Rome, to whom he would be 
careful what he said, and not in two different places insist upon the same 
thing, and press for the demolishing of this statue, which, if not the statue 
of Simon Magus, must needs be resented as a bold and notorious fable, 
and have a very ill effect upon his Apology and the Christian cause; when 
I consider these things, I say, they weigh much more with me on the side 
of Justin, and the other Fathers, than a conjecture merely grounded upon the 
statue lately dug up does against them. Moreover, we learn from Baronius 
and Gruter that there were other statues to this Semoni Sango in several 
places of Italy, besides that in the Tiberine Island, and so the Fathers 
could not be easily mistaken about this pagan demi-god ; and Lactantius 
and St. Augustin expressly mention this Sangus as the god of the Sabines ; 
and the Christian writers do likewise affirm that the statue of Simon 
Magus was erected by public authority, whereas this to Sangus was of 
private donation by Sextus Pompeius ; the statue of Sangus was of stone, 
that of Simon Magus of brass. So that here we have two statues of 
different materials, and with different inscriptions, and yet they must be 
one and the same, because the Fathers are to be discredited. Unless, 
therefore, Daille and le Clerk can prove that the Tiberine Island could 
not hold two statues, they prove nothing to the purpose ; but some men 
never think they make a good figure but when they stand upon the 
ruins of Christian antiquity. See this matter fully cleared in a book 
called Defensio S. Aiigustini adversus Joan. Phereponi Anitnadversiones, 
p. 176. 

^ A doctrine much perhaps of the same complexion with what Mr. 

A ill broached lately, though not, I believe, with the same success of 

followers. 



The First Apology of Jttstin Martyr. (35) 

XXXV. There is one Marcion, also of Pontus, who at this 
time instructs his disciples in the doctrine of another god, 
greater than the Creator of the world, and who, by the assist- 
ance of the evil spirits, has spread this poison so effectually 
about every nation as to prevail upon many to subscribe to 
the blasphemy, and deny the Maker of the universe to be 
God, professing another greater deity, and a creator of greater 
worlds; and yet all this sort of men ,go by the name of 
Christians, as I have already said ; just like the philosophers 
who, though they differ never so much in principles, yet all 
take upon them the common title of philosopher. But whether 
these heretics are really guilty of those cursed and scandalous 
actions, which are industriously spread abroad about Chris- 
tians, such as putting out the candles, and promiscuous 
copulations, and the devouring of human flesh, I cannot say ; 
but this I am sure of, that you do not harass and destroy them 
as you do us for these detestable doctrines.^ But I have 

^ Because the reader will meet with this horrid charge against Christians 
in all these Apologies, of promiscuous mixtures, and devouring an infant at 
their meetings, I think it will not be impertinent in this place to acquaint 
him Avith the grounds of such false and malicious accusations. Origen 
fathers them upon the Jews, as if they had invented them on purpose to 
bring Christianity into disgrace ; "and these lies," said he, "succeeded so 
well, that even some in his time would not hold the least conversation with 
a Christian ; but though the Jews had malice enough to invent anything to 
the prejudice of Christians, yet I can hardly be persuaded that all this 
was pure lie and invention without any ground. We know that in the 
most early times of the gospel there were several sorts of heretics, such 
as Simon Magus, Menander, Marcion, Marcus, Basilides, etc., who all 
covered themselves over with the gilded name of Christians, and yet were 
all guilty of these horrid abominations charged upon Christians in general.' 
Irenaeus, adv. Hares, lib. i. c. i. p. 28, and c. ix. p. 70, reports that they 
debauched in private the woman which they had perverted and brought 
over to their sect (as many with shame and sorrow acknowledged upon 
their return to the Church) ; and not only so, but they openly married 
the women they had seduced from their husbands, and laughed at the 
chaste and orthodox Christians as a parcel of blockheads, styling them- 
selves the pure, the perfect, and the seeds of election, Clemens Alex- 



(36) The First Apology of Justin Martyr. 

composed a treatise of all these heresies, which I am ready to 
produce for your satisfaction, if you are ready to peruse it. 

XXXVI. But we who are truly Christians are so far from 
maintaining any unjust or ungodly opinions, that exposing of 
infants, which is so much in practice among you, we teach to 
be a very wicked practice; first, because we see that such 
children, both girls and boys, are generally all trained up for 
the service of lust ; for as the ancients bred up these foundlings 
to feed cows, or goats, or sheep, or grass-horses, so now-a-days 
such boys are brought up only to be abused against nature ; 
and accordingly you have a herd of these women and effeminate 
men, standing prostitute for sale in every nation ; and you 
traffic with such kind of cattle, and take toll and custom for 

andrinus, likewise, Strom, lib. iii. p. 430, tells the same story of the 
Carpocratians that Minutius Felix does of the Christians, namely, that 
both men and women used to meet at supper in imitation of the love- 
feast, and after they had been w'ell warmed with meat and drink, put out 
the candles and promiscuously mixed with one another. And Epiphanius 
tells us of the Gnostics, Hceres. xxvi. p. 42, that they had their wives in 
common, and when a stranger of their own sect came to them, both men 
and women had a sign to know one another by ; for by stretching out 
their hands by way of salutation, and by tickling each other in the ball of 
their hand, they knew the stranger to be of their party. Amongst their 
brethren, the Carpocratians, they were wont to mark their disciples and 
proselytes under the right ear with a slit or hole ; and this agrees with the 
charge of the heathens, that they knew one another at first sight by privy 
marks and signs, which perhaps is referred to Minutius Felix. Besides, 
Epiphanius, Hceres. xxvi. p. 43, tells us that the Gnostics at their meetings 
were wont to take an infant begotten in their promiscuous mixtures, and 
beating it in a mortar, to season it with honey and pepper, and some other 
spices and perfumes to make it palatable, and then like swine or dogs to 
devour it, and this they accounted their " perfect passover. " Now this being 
the practice of these abominable heretics, who had the forehead to style 
themselves Christians, it is no wonder if both Jews and Gentiles, who were 
greedy of any occasion to blacken the Christians, should load them all in 
general with these detestable crimes, either not knowing them to be false, 
or else not willing to distinguish between Christians true or false. 



The First Apology of Justin Martyr. (37) 

their wickedness, when all such monstrous practices ought to 
be quite and clean rooted out of the world. And besides, 
whoever has to do with such wicked creatures, not only defiles 
himself with a mixture repugnant to all the laws of religion 
and temperance, but it is a great chance that the sinner does 
not pollute himself with some of his own children or nearest 
relations. Some there are who prostitute their own wives and 
children, and others are cut pubHcly for pathic obscenity, and 
their instruments made a sacrifice to the mother of the gods. 
And of all the established deities among you, a painted ser- 
pent is the greatest symbol and mystery. And such actions 
as you commit in the face of the sun, and are creditable vices 
among you, as if you had not one spark of divine light left, 
those you charge upon us ; though this charge will do no harm 
to us, who are entire strangers to such sins, but to the doers 
of them only, and to such as falsely lay them to the charge of 
Christians. But the ringleader and prince of evil spirits is by 
us called the serpent, and Satan, and false accuser, as you 
may easily find from our Scriptures, who together with all his 
host of angels, and men like himself, shall be thrust into fire, 
there to be tormented, world without end, as our Christ has 
foretold ; and the reason why God has not done this already 
is out of mercy to such of mankind as He foresees will repent 
and be saved ; some of which are now in being, and others 
as yet unborn. And from the beginning He made mankind 
intelligent and free creatures, fit for the choice and practice of 
truth and goodness, so that every sinner should be without 
excuse before God ; for we are endued with reason, and formed 
for contemplation. If any one, therefore, shall disbelieve the 
providence of God, or shall deny His existence, notwithstand- 
ing the evidence of His world, or assert Him to be a Being 
delighted with wickedness, or as unactive as a stone, and that 
vice and virtue are nothing in themselves, and depend only 
upon the opinions of men ; this, I say, is a consummate piece 
of impiety and injustice. And another reason against ex- 



{^S) The First Apology of Jti^stin Martyr. 

posing infants is, that we are afraid they should perish for 
want of being taken up, and so bring us under the guilt of 
murder. 

XXXVII. Moreover, the end of Christians in marrying is 
the Christian education of their children, and such as refuse 
to marry contain themselves perpetually within the bounds of 
chastity. And to give you a very persuasive and sensible argu- 
ment that promiscuous copulation is not one of the mysteries in 
practice amongst us, a Christian youth sent a petition to Felix, 
the President of Alexandria, to give a surgeon leave to cut 
him ; for without leave from the president such kind of opera- 
tions are interdicted ; but when Felix would not sign the 
petition, the youth persisting in his resolution, at length satis- 
fied his conscience and those about him who were of his mind, 
by performing the operation upon himself. I do not think 
it improper in this place to put you in mind of the late 
Antinous, whom all were prevailed upon by fear to worship 
as a god, notwithstanding they well knew what he was, and 
whence his original. But lest any one should object that we 
can show no reason why our Christ should not be looked upon 
as a mere man, and His miracles the effects only of magic, 
and therefore cried up for the Son of God, I shall enter upon 
the proof of His divinity, not so much trusting to the reports 
of men as the predictions of prophets, and necessitated to 
believe, because we see things with our own eyes already ful- 
filled according to these predictions, and a fulfilling on every 
day ; and this, I believe, you yourselves will grant to be the 
strongest demonstration of the truth imaginable. 

XXXVIII. There were of old, among the Jews, certain 
prophets of God, by whom the prophetic spirit made procla- 
mation of things to come long before they were in being ; 
these prophecies, just as they were delivered, were committed 
to writing by the prophets themselves in their own Hebrew 



The First Apology of Jtistin Martyr. (39) 

mother tongue, and the books put into the custody of the 
kings of Judea then in being. When Ptolemy, therefore, 
king of Egypt, was setting up his library, and very inquisitive 
about the most curious collection of all sorts of books, being 
informed of these prophetic writings, he despatched an 
ambassador to the Jewish high priest,^ who was at that time 
invested with the regal power, to request of him a present of 
these prophecies, and accordingly the royal high priest sent 
them in their original language ; but the contents of these 
books being not intelligible to the Egyptians in the Hebrew 
tongue, he sent a second embassy to desire him to send over 
men to translate them into Greek ; and by these means these 
books are in being with Egyptians to this day, and this trans- 
lation is in the hands almost of every Jew all the world over ; 
which, though they read, they understand not, but blindly 
take Christians for their enemies, and whenever it is in their 
power treat us as cruelly as you do, which I doubt not but 
you will readily grant me. For in the last Jewish war, 
Barchochebas, the ringleader of the revolting Jews, ordered 
the Christians only to be dragged to the most grievous tor- 
ments unless they would renounce and blaspheme Jesus 
Christ. 

^ Tu Tuv '\ovhce,lu)'i Tori (iaffiXivovrt 'llpc-j^ri. This is another passage 
which that " Orbillius Patrum," John Daille, has chosen to expose what 
he thinks to be the nakedness of this Father ; for (says he) Justin Martyr, 
speaking of the translation of the seventy interpreters, affirms that Ptolemy, 
king of Egypt, sent his ambassadors to Herod, king of Judsea, whereas 
the truth of the story is, that he sent to Eleazar the high priest, two 
hundred forty and odd years before Herod came to be king of Judaea. 
Dr. Grabe, who makes it his business to do justice to the primitive 
Fathers, who deserve so well of the Christian world, well knew that 
his Justin was a person too well qualified to be guilty of so notorious an 
oversight in point of chronology, and in a matter so near his own time, 
has by a happy conjecture restored him to himself by substituting 'npi7 
instead of'Hpuoyi, which, no doubt, was a blunder in the transcriber. Vzd. 
notes upon this place. 



(4o) The First Apology of Jicstin Martyr. 

XXXIX. Now in these books of the prophets we find it fore- 
told that there was One a-coming into the world Who, being 
born of a virgin, and grown up to man's estate, should cure 
every disease and malady' in nature, and raise the dead, and 
be treated with spite and ignominy, and at length this Jesus 
our Christ should be fastened to a cross, and die, and rise 
again, and ascend up into heaven, and that He was truly the 
Son of God, and should be worshipped under that title, and 
that He should send out some to preach these tidings to 
every nation, and that the Gentiles should come over to the 
faith in greater numbers than the Jews ; and these very pro- 
phecies went of Him before His coming, some five thousand, 
some three, some two, some one thousand, and some eight 
hundred years only ; ^ for in these succeeding generations there 
was a succession of some prophets or other. 

XL. And the great prince of prophets, Moses, thus expressly 
signified : " The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a 
lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come ; and unto 
Him shall the gathering of the people be ; binding His foal 
unto the vine, and washing His garments in the blood of 
grapes" (Gen. xlix. lo, ii). It is incumbent therefore upon 
you to make diligent inquiry how long the Jews had a prince 
or ruler properly their own, and you will find, until the ap- 
pearance of Jesus Christ our Master, the great Expositor of 
these prophecies, little understood before ; and you will see it 
exactly verified according to what the divine, holy, and pro- 
phetic Spirit foretold by Moses, " That a lawgiver should not 
depart from Judah, until Shiloh come ; " for Judah was the 
father of the Jewish nation, and from whom they took the 
name of Jews. But after the coming of Shiloh, you your- 
selves reigned over the Jews, and reduced their whole kingdom 

1 *' Some five thousand, some three," etc. The more curious will find 
the chronology of these several periods adjusted by Dr. Grabe in his notes 
upon this place. 



The First Apology of Justin Martyr. (41) 

into a Roman province ; that part of the prophecy which says 
" that unto Him shall the gathering of the people be," or " that 
He shall be the expectation of the Gentiles," denotes the 
general expectation of His second coming, — a truth your own 
eyes bear witness to, and the thing proves itself; for you see 
all sorts of men big with the hopes of His second coming in 
glory, Who was crucified in Judaea, after which crucifixion you 
immediately became masters of their whole country. 

XLI. Moreover, *' the binding His foal unto the vine, and 
washing His garments in the blood of grapes," was a significative 
symbol of what Christ was to do and suffer ; for there stood 
the foal of an ass tied to a vine at the entrance of a certain 
village, which He ordered His disciples to go and bring Him, 
upon which He got and rode into Jerusalem, where the stately 
temple of the Jews then was, which you since have razed to 
the ground ; and to fulfil the sequel of the prophecy He was 
afterwards crucified. For " washing His garments in the blood 
of grapes " prefigured the passion He was to undergo, purify- 
ing by His blood such as should believe in Him ; for what, 
by the prophet, the Divine Spirit calls His garments are the 
faithful, in whom the Logos, the seed of God, dwells.^ " The 
blood of grapes " typifies that He Who was to come should have 
blood, but not of human, but of divine generation ; and the 
first power next to God the Father, and Lord of all, is His 
Son the Logos ; but how this Logos was incarnated and made 

^ To <^upa Tou @scv iTTspfict, x'oyos. I take the liberty to dissent from 
Dr. Grabe in this place, who thinks that -prnv(jt.a. ought to be restored in 
the room of (r-^ripfAK, because of the word oIku; but Christ is said to dwell in 
the faithful as well as the Holy Spirit. Ka,Toi)iY>!ra.i tov Xpitrrov ^ik rn? -r'^rnui 
\m rcili xap^ixi; vficuv, '* that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith " (Eph. 
iii. 17), and in many other places to the same purpose. But, moreover, the 
main design of Justin in this prophecy is to establish the divine generation 
of Christ, and therefore he emphatically calls Him to ^ecpa tov @iou ff^ipf^a, 
" the seed of God," in opposition to xv^pu^rnov o-Tip/xa, " the seed of man," 
which immediately he twice repeats in expounding the blood of the grape. 



(42) The First Apology of Justin Martyr. 

man shall be declared in order. But as man had no hand 
in making the blood of the grape, but God only, so this is 
an emblem that the blood of the Logos was of no human 
extraction, but descended from the power of the Most High, 
as I have already declared. 

XLII. Isaiah, another prophet, foretells the same things, 
but in other words : " There shall come a Star out of Jacob, 
and a Rod shall come forth out of the root of Jesse, and to 
it shall the Gentiles seek " (Isa. xi. i, 10).^ Now this shining 
Star out of Jacob, and this Rod out of the root of Jesse, is 
Christ ; for He was conceived by the power of God, and born 
of a virgin of the seed of Jacob, the father of Judah, from 
whence arose the Jewish nation ; and Jesse, according to his 
oracle, was reckoned among His ancestors, but He was the son 
of Jacob and Judah in a lineal succession. 

XLIII. Again, concerning His being to be born of a virgin, 
hear the express words of the same prophet Isaiah, and they 
are these : " Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, 
and shall call His name Immanuel," that is, " God with us " 
(Isa. vii. 14). For such things as were incredible and impossible 
to be, in the opinions of men, God by the prophetic Spirit 
foretold should be ; that' when they found such things in 
being, the very predictions should make it hardly possible to 
disbelieve them. But that such as understand not the pro- 
phecy before us, may not turn to the objections upon us which 
we charge upon the poets, and father this conception upon a 
lustful Jove, I shall endeavour to set the words in a clearer 
light. This expression, therefore, "Behold, a virgin shall con- 
ceive," manifestly declares that a virgin shall conceive without 
any carnal concurrence, for upon that she must cease to be 
a virgin ; but the power of God coming down upon the virgin 

AvaT-sAtr «<rT/)av e| 'lxxu(i. See Dr. Grabe's conjecture upon this 
propliecy. 



The First Apology of Justin Martyr. (43) 

overshadowed her, and made her conceive in the pure state 
of virginity; and the angel of God which was sent to her, 
delivered his embassy in these words : " Behold, thou shalt 
conceive in thy womb by the Holy Ghost, and bring forth a 
Son, and He shall be called the Son of the Highest, and thou 
shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from 
their sins " (Luke i. 31, 35; Matt. i. 21), as the evangelists 
have taught us, whom we believe, and the rather because the 
prophetic Spirit by the same Isaiah has foretold He should be 
born, just as we have now declared. By the " Spirit and power 
of God," we ought to understand the very Logos, who, accord- 
ing to the aforesaid prophet Isaiah, is the "first-begotten of 
God." ^ This Spirit coming down and overshadowing the virgin, 
did impregnate her, not in a carnal way, but by a power 
divine. Jesus is an Hebrew word, and in Greek o-wttjp, that 
is, Saviour, in allusion to w^hich the angel delivered himself 
thus to the virgin, " And thou shalt call His name Jesus, for 
He shall save His people from their sins." 

XLIV. That the prophets were inspired by nothing but the 
divine Wisdom or Logos, Who could foresee things at such a 
distance, is what I believe you yourselves will grant me ; but 
where this Logos was to be born, hear what Micah, another 
prophet, says, and thus it stands : " And thou, Bethlehem, 
in the land of Judah, art not the least among the princes of 
Judah ; for out of thee shall come a Governor That shall rule 
My people Israel." ^ Now this Bethlehem, w^here Christ Jesus 
was born, is a certain village in Judaea, about thirty-five fur- 
longs from Jerusalem, as you may see in the censual tables of 
Cyrenius, the first Prefect of Judaea ;2 and how Christ after 

^ See Dr. Giabe's conjecture about the corruption of this place. 

2 Mic. V. 2, as it is cited by St. Matt. ii. 6. 

^ 'ETTirpoTov. For the understanding of this word Dr. Grabe refers to 
Grotius in c. ii. Luc. And whoever desires to see more may consuh Vales. 
upon Emeh. Hist. lib. i. c. v., and Montac. Apparat. iv. p. 156, etc. 



(44) T^i'^ /^?>i"^ Apology of f test in Martyr. 

He was born lived in obscurity, and how this obscurity of Hfe 
was foretold likewise, we have our prophets to show, for thus 
they speak ; ^ 

XLV. " Unto us a Child is born, and a young Man given, 
and the government shall be upon His shoulders " (Isa. ix. 6). 
Now this was a prophetic description of the power of the 
Cross, to which He applied His shoulders at His crucifixion, 
as I shall manifest in the progress of this discourse. And 
again, the same Isaiah, as he was moved by the prophetic 
Spirit, says, " I have spread out My hands to a rebellious gain- 
saying people, which walketh in a way that is not good " (Isa. 
Ixv. 2). "They ask of me the ordinance of justice ; they take 
delight in approaching to God " (Isa. Iviii. 2). And by another 
prophet, in other words. He spake thus : " They pierced My 
hands and My feet, and upon My vesture did they cast lots " 
(Ps. xxii. 16, 18). But David, both a king and a prophet, who 
spake this, suffered nothing like it ; but the hands of Jesus 
Christ were pierced and extended upon a Cross, while the Jews 
reviled and denied Him to be the Christ. For, according to 
the prophet, they led Him to the judgment-seat, and flouted 
Him, saying : " Thy judgment be upon us." ^ "They pierced 
His hands and feet " refers to the nails that fastened them to 
the cross ; and when they had crucified Him, the crucifiers 
"parted His garments, and upon His vesture did they cast lots;" 
and for the truth of this you may satisfy yourselves from the 
acts of Pontius Pilate ; and how literally it was prophesied 
that He should make His entrance into Jerusalem upon the 
foal of an ass, I shall lay before you in the words of the prophet 
Zechariah : ^ " Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion ; shout, O 

^ Here is a deficiency, and of what, consult Dr. Grabe. 

2 Matt, xxvii. Here you have not the very words, but the sense only, 
as Justin often does cite in this manner. 

^ T«u ^i>(poviov. Here is another terrible oversight charged upon our 
Martyr by John Daille, namely, that he quotes this prophecy out of 



/ 



The First Apology of Justin Martyr. (45) 

daughter of Jerusalem : behold, thy King cometh unto thee, 
meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass."^ 

XLVI. But when you hear the prophets speaking, as it 
were, under the names of different persons, you must not look 
upon the men who speak so much as upon the divine Logos 
who inspires them ; for sometimes He personates a prophet, 
sometimes He speaks in the person of God, the Lord and 
Parent of the universe, sometimes in the person of Christ, 
sometimes under the representation of the people in confer- 
ence with the Lord or His Father ; and there is nothing more 
familiar than this way of introducing several persons speaking, 
though the whole was composed by one, even among your 
own writers. Now the Jews, not animadverting to this manner 
of personating in the prophetic writings which they had in 
keeping, overlooked Christ, even before their eyes, and mortally 
hate us who affirm Him already come, and to have been 
crucified, and prove it demonstrably to have come to pass 
according to the prophets' predictions. 

XLVn. A plain example of which, you have in the words of 
Isaiah the prophet just now mentioned, delivered in the person 
of God the Father : " The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass 
his master's crib : but Israel doth not know. My people doth 
not consider. Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, 
a seed of evil-doers, wicked children, ye have forsaken the 
Lord " (Isa. i. 3, 4). And again, elsewhere, the prophet speaks 
in the person of the Father : " What is the house ye build 
unto Me ? saith the Lord ; the heaven is My throne, and the 

Zephaniah, which is only to be found in the prophet Zechariah ; but had 
this censor been as good at mending as he is at making holes, he might 
have found this very prophecy cited by Justin from out of Zechariah ; for 
thus he speaks: •XfoK^n'rivSn V% v'pro Zet^uplov Ivns ruv '^u'^iKot,^ — ovtm; — 
X^'Tpi tripd^px Svya.'Tip Ztuv, etc. Dial, cum Tryph. p. 273. 
^ Zech. ix. 9, according as they are cited by Matt. xxi. 5. 



(46) The First Apology of Justin Alai^tyr. 

earth is My footstool" (Isa. Ixvi. i). And again, elsewhere : 
" Your new moons and Sabbaths My soul hateth ; your great 
day of fasting and resting I cannot away with ; when you come 
to appear before Me, I will not hear you ; your hands are full 
of blood, bring no more vain oblations ; incense is an abomi- 
nation unto Me ; I am full of the fat of lambs, and the blood 
of goats ; who has required these at your hands ? " (Isa. i. 
11-15). "But loose the bands of wickedness, and undo 
the heavy burdens; bring the poor that are cast out of thy 
house, and cover the naked, and deal thy bread to the 
hungry" (Isa. Iviii. 6, 7). And what these commands of God 
by His prophets were you may understand by these examples. 

XLVIII. When the prophetic Spirit speaks in the person of 
Christ, He speaks in this wise : " I have spread out My hands 
to an incredulous and gainsaying people, which walketh in a 
way that is not good " (Isa. Ixv. 2). And again : " I gave My 
back to the smiters, and My cheeks to them that struck them ; 
I hid not My face from shame and spitting. For the Lord 
God will help Me, therefore shall I not be confounded ; there- 
fore have I set My face like a flint, and I know that I shall 
not be ashamed. He is near that justifieth Me" (Isa. 1. 6, 7, 8). 
And again : " They parted My garments among them, and cast 
lots upon My vesture; they pierced My hands and My feet" 
(Ps. xxii. 16, 18). " I laid Me down and slept, and rose again, 
for the Lord raised Me" (Ps. iii. 5). And again : " They shoot 
out the lip, and shake the head, saying, Let the Lord deliver 
him " (Ps. xxii. 8, 9). All which you may plainly see was 
fullilled in Christ by the Jews ; for while He was crucifying 
they distorted their lips, and wagging their heads, said, '' He 
that raised the dead, let Him save Himself" (Matt, xxvii. 39). 

XLIX. When the prophetic Spirit personates a prophet in 
foretelling things to come, He speaks thus : " Out of Sion shall 
go forth a law, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem, 



The First Apology of Jjistin Martyr. (47) 

and He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many 
people, and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, 
and their spears into pruning-hooks ; nation shall not lift up 
sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more " 
(Isa. ii. 3, 4). And that this scripture was thus fulfilled you 
have good grounds to beKeve ; for there went out of Jerusalem 
into the world men in number but twelve, and those, too, men 
of no learning and of as little eloquence; but they went forth 
in the power of God, and published to every nation that they 
were sent to instruct them in the word of God, and sent by 
Christ. And this has had so good an effect that we, who 
heretofore were continually devouring each other, will not now 
so much as lift up our hand against our enemies, nor tell an 
untruth to escape those that are hunting after our blood, but 
cheerfully confess Christ, and as cheerfully go to execution for 
so doing, though we might easily come off by the help of that 
mental reservation in your poet, " My tongue has sworn, but 
my mind has not."i But now if the soldiers you list, and who 
article with you to be true, can prefer their plighted troth 
before all the endearments of life, parents, country, and every 
relation, — if they can stake their all upon their allegiance to 
you, who can reward them with nothing incorruptible, — how 
ridiculous would it be in Christians, we whose souls are set 
upon nothing but the joys of immortality, not to charge 
through every affliction for the prize we so passionately desire, 
and which we are sure to be crowned with by Him who is able 
to give ! 

L. Hear also in what manner the prophetic Spirit delivers 
Himself, by the mouth of him who was both prophet and 
king, concerning the preachers of the gospel and the pub- 
lishers of Christ's coming into the world : " Day unto day 
uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. 
There is no speech nor language where their voice is not 

^ Evrip, Hip. 



(48) The First Apology of Justin Martyr. 

heard ; their sound is gone out through all the earth ; and their 
words to the end of the world. In them hath He set a tabernacle 
for the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, 
and rejoiceth as a giant to run his course" (Ps. xix. 2-5). 

LI. Should I add more of David's prophecies to these I 
have already produced, I am of opinion it might be both per- 
tinent and useful ; for from hence you might take a survey of 
that kind of life which the prophetic Spirit exhorts men to, and 
you might see Herod the king of the Jews, and the Jews 
themselves, and Pilate your procurator of Judaea, and his 
soldiers, all conspiring against Christ ; and how it was foretold 
that, in spite of all this opposition, every nation should come 
at length to believe in Him. And here likewise you may see 
how God calls Him His Son, and promises to subdue all His 
enemies unto Him, and how the devils should labour with all 
their might to hide themselves from the power of God, the 
Parent and Lord of all things, and from the power of His 
Christ ; and lastly, how God should invite all men to repent 
before the coming of the day of judgment. The words of 
prophecy are these : "Blessed is the man that walketh not in 
the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, 
nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in 
the law of the Lord ; and in His law doth He meditate day 
and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers 
of water, that bringeth forth fruit in his season ; his leaf shall 
not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The 
ungodly are not so : but are like the chaff which the wind 
driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the 
judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 
For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous : but the way 
of the ungodly shall perish. Why do the heathen rage, and 
the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth 
stood up, and the rulers took counsel together, against the 
Lord, and against His Christ : Let us break their bonds 



' The First Apology of J2cstin Martyr. (49) 

asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth 
in the heavens shall laugh : the Lord shall have them in 
derision. Then shall He speak unto them in His wrath, and 
vex them in His sore displeasure. Yet have I set my King 
upon my holy hill of Sion. I will declare the decree : the 
Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son ; this day have I 
begotten Thee. Ask of me, and I shall give Thee the heathen 
for Thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for 
Thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron ; 
Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Be wise 
now therefore, O ye kings : be instructed, ye judges of the 
earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 
Obey His doctrine, lest the Lord be angry, and ye perish from 
the right way, when His wrath shall be kindled on a sudden. 
Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him." ^ 

LH. And again, in another prophecy, which the prophetic 
Spirit delivered by the same David concerning Christ's king- 
dom, which was to commence just after His crucifixion. He 
speaks in this wise : " Sing unto the Lord all the whole earth, 
and be telling of His salvation from day to day. For the Lord 
is great, and cannot worthily be praised : He is more to be 
feared than all gods, for all the gods of the heathen are but 
the idols of devils ; but it is the Lord that made the heavens. 
Glory and worship are before Him, power and honour are in 
His sanctuary. Ascribe unto the Lord, the Father everlasting, 
worship and power ; bring presents, and come into His courts. 
Let the whole earth stand in awe of Him, and be made so fast 
in His worship that it cannot be moved. Let them rejoice 
among the nations, for the Lord reigneth from the tree " ^ (Ps. 
xcvi. i-ii). 

^ Ps. i. and ii. 

2 Vid. Dial, cum Tryph. p. 298. And in allusion to the Cross are those 
words in the Book of Wisdom, "Blessed is the Word whereby righteous- 
ness Cometh " (Wisd. xiv. 7). 



(5o) The First Apology of Justin Martyr. 

LI II. But because the prophetic Spirit speaks of futurities 
and things past, and lest this should prove any offence in the 
reader's way, I shall clear it a little more particularly. I say, 
then, that what the Spirit knows must certainly come to pass 
He declares as already fulfilled; and that we are thus to 
understand His words will be very evident, if you reflect a 
little upon the passages I have quoted; for David, about iioo 
years ^ before the crucifixion of Christ in our flesh, gave out the 
prophecies aforesaid, and not one, either of his predecessors or 
successors, were ever crucified, or brought such glad tidings to 
the Gentile world. But our Jesus Christ, after His crucifixion 
and death, rose again and ascended into heaven and entered 
upon His kingdom ; and what He proclaimed to all nations by 
His apostles spreads a universal joy upon the hearts of such 
as are in expectation of that immortality which is brought to 
light by His gospel. 

LIV. But lest any should collect from what has been said 
that we are assertors of fatal necessity, and conclude that pro- 
phecy must needs infer predestination,^ we shall clear ourselves 
as to this point also. For we learn from these very prophets 

' A«i3}5 £T£(r; Xi^xloii kx] vivTaxoffloi;. Here again Dr. Grabe has wiped 
off a sad blemish, which the aforesaid John Daille would fix upon Justin in 
point of chronology, and has plainly proved it to be an error in the scribe. 
See the notes upon this passage. 

2 That the pagans were very much inclined to infer, with the Stoics, a 
fatal necessity from the prediction of things to come, is evident from what 
Origen replies to Celsus upon this subject. Orig. contra Cels. lib, ii. p. 72. 
I know that our Martyr is thought hardly of for magnifying the power of 
man's will, but this is notoriously evident to have been the current doctrine 
of the Fathers, through all the first ages till the rise of the Pelagian con- 
troversy, though they all acknowledged x'^P'^ l^xiptvov a mighty assistance 
of divine grace to raise up the soul for divine and spiritual things. And 
Justin tells his adversary, that it is vain for man to think of rightly 
understanding the prophets unless he be assisted ^£t« f^iyxX'/is x^piro; rvit 
-Trctpk @icv, "by a mighty grace derived from God." Dial, aim Tryph. 
P- 319- 



The First Apology of Justin Martyr, (51) 

that rewards and punishments are to be distributed in propor- 
tion to the merits of mankind, and it is a truth we ourselves 
profess. For if it be not so, but all things are determined 
by fate, then farewell freedom of will; and if this man is 
destined to be good, and that evil, then neither the one nor the 
other can be justly approved or condemned ; so that unless we 
suppose that mankind has it in his power to choose the good 
and refuse the evil, no one can be accountable for any action 
whatever. But to prove that men are good or evil by choice, 
I argue in this manner. We see in the same person a transi- 
tion to quite contrary actions ; but, now, was he necessitated 
either to be good or bad he would not be capable of this 
contrariety, nor so often vary from one to the other; besides, 
there would not be this diversity of virtuous and vicious in the 
world; for either we must say with you that destiny is the 
cause of evil, — and then destiny would act contradictorily to 
herself in being the cause of good, — or else I must say, what I 
have said already, that you conclude virtue and vice to be in 
themselves nothing, but to receive their estimate of good or 
bad from the opinions of men only, which, according to right 
reason, is a consummate piece of impiety and injustice. 

LV. But this, I will tell you, is destiny, inevitable destiny, 
that those who choose to walk in the paths of virtue shall meet 
with proportionate returns of honour, and those who prefer the 
contrary course shall be punished accordingly; for God has 
not made man like trees or beasts, without the power of 
election ; for he that has no hand in making himself good or 
bad, but is born so ready made, is no proper subject for. the 
distributions of justice ; for neither the good nor the evil are 
such by themselves, but only as they are framed by the hand 
of destiny. 

LVI. Moreover, the Holy prophetic Spirit has instructed us 
in the doctrine of free-will by Moses, who introduces God, 



(52) The First Apology of Jttstin Martyr. 

speaking to the new-made man in this manner : " Behold, 
good and evil is before you; choose the good."^ And again, 
by another prophet, Isaiah, He speaks to the same effect in 
the person of God, the Father and Lord of the universe : 
"Wash ye, make you clean, put away the evil of your doings, 
learn to do well, judge the fatherless, and plead for the 
widow. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the 
Lord : Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as 
snow ; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. 
If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the 
land : But if ye refuse and rebel, the sword shall feed upon 
you: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it" (Isa. i. 16-20). 
And whereas it is said that the " sword shall feed upon you," 
and not that the disobedient shall be cut off by swords, I must 
tell you, by the by, that the " sword of God " is fire, which 
shall prey upon those who have made wickedness their choice, 
and therefore He says, " The sword shall feed upon you ; the 
mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." Whereas had He spoken 
of a common sword which cuts off, and despatches in a 
moment. He would not have used the word "feeding upon," 
which intimates a gradual destruction. 

LVII. When Plato therefore said " that the blame lies at 
his door who wills the sin, but God wills no evil,"^ he borrowed 
the saymg from Moses ; for Moses is older than any of your 
Greek writers;^ and as to all their notions about the immortality 
of the soul, and punishments after death, and their divine 
theories, and such-like doctrines, the philosophers and poets 
plainly took their hints from the prophets, which they con- 
sulted and built upon, and by this means the seeds of truth 

^ Deut. XXX. 15, 19, See Dr. Grabe's notes upon this. 

2 Plat, de Repub. lib. x. p. 617, edit. Henr. Stephani. 

^ At the easiest computation, between Moses and Homer there are above 
600 years ; nay, Cadmus, the first inventor of letters among the Grecians, 
was some ages junior to Moses. 



The First Apology of Justin Martyr. (53) 

seem to be scattered about the world ; but it is evident they 
understood them not as they should do, from the manifold 
contradictions amongst them. 

LVIII. By maintaining, therefore, that future events have 
been foretold by the prophets, we do not maintain that the 
things foretold came to pass by any fatal necessity, but from 
that divine prescience which foresees all the actions of men, 
without necessitating them to act. And since a just retri- 
bution of rewards and punishments is a current opinion in the 
world, God has been pleased to second this notion by the 
prophetic Spirit, the more to awaken mankind and to print a 
future judgment perpetually upon their minds, and withal to 
show that His providence is concerned about us, and observes 
all our actions. 

LIX. But it was brought about by devil-craft to be made a 
capital crime to read the books of Hystaspes Sibylla,^ and the 

^ The great objection against the Sibylline oracles, etc., is, that they so 
plainly and expressly foretell Christ to the heathen world ; as plainly, if not 
more than the prophets did to the Jews ; but was not Christ as manifestly 
foretold by Balaam, the Aramitic sorcerer, as by the prophet Isaiah ? Did 
not Job, who was not of Israel, speak of the great article of the resurrec- 
tion ? (xix. 25). Did not Daniel in his captivity communicate his pro- 
phecies to the Gentiles as well as the Jews ? And was not a prophet sent 
to Jeroboam, an Israelite indeed by birth, but a pagan in religion ? All 
which plainly prove that God never delivered Himself more plainly by His 
prophets than when He transacted with Gentiles, and not with Jews. 
And this likewise proves what Clemens Alexandrinus tells us in Stjv. c. vi. 
p. 270, that as God raised up prophets among the Jews to bring them to 
salvation, " Sic et selectissimum quemque e Paganis servare voluisse, 
prophetas ipsis proprios, propria ipsorum dialecto excitando ; " and to these 
Sibyls, Justin, Clemens, Origen, Eusebius, Lactantius, send the heathen 
for the truth of Christianity, and laid so great a stress upon them, that they 
were called Sibyllists. But now, had all these books of the Sibyls been 
Christian forgeries (not to mention the baseness of such pious frauds 
abominated by the first Christians), they would never have been so sillily 
impudent as to have appealed to them before the emperors, and to the 



(54) The First Apology of Justin Martyr. 

prophets, upon a presumption that men would not venture upon 
such books for better information at the peril of their lives, but 
rather sit down contented slaves to the powers of darkness. 
But the devils missed their aim, for we are not only afraid to 
read these scriptures, but, as you see, frankly offer them to 
your perusal, presuming they may be well accepted by all \ but 
if we gain a few only, we shall be great gainers, for God will 
look upon us as good husbandmen, who have done our best, 
and will reward us accordingly. 

LX. But to return from this digression to the prophecies 

whole world. And Origen would never have challenged Celsus, or any of 
the heathens, to give a considerable instance where these books were inter- 
polated by Christians, which, no doubt, they would have triumphantly 
produced, had they any such interpolations to produce, Orig. contr. Cels. 
lib. i. Moreover, it is certain that in Cicero's time the Sibylline pro- 
phecies were interpreted by some in favour of Cassar, as predicting a 
monarchy, Cic. Di7}. 1. ii., '^' Eum, quem revera regem," etc. "That if we 
would be safe, we should acknowledge him for a king who really w^as so." 
Which interpretation Cicero after Csesar's death was so much offended 
with, that he quarrelled with the oracles and the interpreters, "Quamobrem 
Sibyllam quidem sepositam," etc. " Wherefore let us shut up the Sibyl, and 
keep her close ; that according to the decree of our ancestors, her verses 
may not be read without the express command of the Senate." And then 
adds, " Cum Antistitibus," etc. '* Let us also deal with the Quindecimviri 
and the interpreters of these Sibylline books, that they would rather pro- 
duce anything out of them than a king." And that in the Eclogue of 
Virgil, "Ultima Cumaei venit," etc., written about the beginning of 
Herod the Great, and flatteringly applied to Pollio's son Saloninus, speaks 
of such a golden age and reuuvallon of eiU things, as cannot be fulfilled in 
the reign of any earthly king, and in a strain prophetic. The same year 
that Pompey took Jerusalem, one of the Sibyl oracles made a mighty 
noise, viz., " That Nature was about to bring forth a king to the Romans." 
And Suetonius, in his Life of Augustus, says, " That this so terrified the 
Senate that they made a decree that none born that year should be educated, 
and that those whose wives were with child applied the prophecy to them- 
selves." And Appian, Plutarch, Sallust, and Ciceroall say that it w-as this 
prophecy of the Sibyls which stirred up Cornelius Lentulus at that time, 
he hoping ihat he was the man designed for this king of the Romans. 



The First Apology of Justin Martyr. (55) 

concerning Christ, it was prophesied, that after His resurrection 
God the Father of all things should take Him up into heaven, 
there to reign till He had put down His spiritual enemies, the 
whole host of darkness, under His feet, and till the number 
should be fulfilled which He foreknew would be men of piety 
and virtue, for whose sake He suspends the general conflagra- 
tion. Hear the words of the prophet David to this purpose, 
" The Lord saith unto my Lord, Sit Thou at my right hand until 
I make Thine enemies Thy footstool. The Lord shall send the 
rod of Thy strength out of Sion : rule Thou in the midst of 

The words of Suetonius in the Life of Vespasian are very remarkable, 
*'Percrebuerat oriente toto vetus et constans opinio, esse in fatis, ut eo 
tempore Judsea profecti rerum potirentur ; " and to the same purpose are 
those of Tacitus {Hist. 1. v.), " Pluribus persuasio inerat, antiquis Sacer- 
dotum literis contineri, eo ipso tempore fore, ut valesceret oriens, pro- 
fectique Judsea rerum potirentur." Now that which I look upon as the 
most probable account of these express prophecies concerning Christ, I 
mean how they came to be so rife among the heathens, is this, that the 
Jews in their dispersion took all occasions to speak the most magnificent 
things of their expected Messiah ; and that these prophecies, by the more 
than ordinary grace of God, shone brighter and clearer upon their minds 
during their captivity, as the great support to them under their exile ; and 
that the Jewish oracles came to be admitted into the Sibylline books laid 
up in the Capitol, I believe, was upon this occasion. Now the books of 
Sibyls were of two kinds, those bought by Tarquin, and burnt with the 
Capitol in the time of Sylla ; and these we find from Livy were full of 
nothing but idolatry and superstition. But after the rebuilding of the 
Capitol, there were others brought from Erythrsea by the' three ambassadors 
deputed for that purpose ; and afterwards upon the same design were others 
sent by Augustus, as Tacitus tells us, Annal. lib. vi., " Qusesitis Samo, Ilio, 
Erythris, per Africam etiam et Siciliam et Italicas Colonias Carminibus 
Sibyllas, datum Sacerdotibus negotium, quantum humana ope potuissent, 
vera discernere." And to the same purpose Suetonius, Aug. c. 31. Now 
who can doubt but in this search after the Sibylline oracles, many of the 
Jewish prophecies were picked up (especially those famous ones concern- 
ing the new king), and carried with the rest to Rome ; for after the first 
were burnt with the Capitol, who could possibly distinguish the one from 
the other ? And therefore Tacitus cautiously adds in the afore-cited passage, 
"quantum humana ope potuissent." 



(56) The First Apology of Justin Martyr, 

Thine enemies. Thy people shall be willing in the day of 
Thy power, in the beauties of holiness ; from the womb have 
I begotten Thee before the morning star " (Ps. ex. 1-3). 
Now these words, "The Lord shall send the rod of Thy 
strength out of Jerusalem," are predictive of that most powerful 
doctrine, which the apostles after their departure from Jeru- 
salem proclaimed to the whole world ; which very doctrine 
we embrace and teach everywhere, though we know it is death 
by your law to teach it, or so much as profess the name of 
Christ. But if the Christian profession must still meet with 
such bitter treatment, remember what I told you before, that 
the farthest you can go is to take away our lives ; but the loss 
of this life will certainly be no ill bargain to us. You, indeed, 
and all such wicked enemies, without repentance, shall one day 
dearly pay for this persecution in fire everlasting. 

LXI. But lest men of perverse minds for the staggering of 
Christian converts should object, that we ourselves allow Christ 
not to have been born above an hundred and fifty years, in the 
time of Cyrenius, and that He broached His doctrine under 
Pontius Pilate ; and from hence cry out that all mankind 
before the birth of Christ must consequently have been inno- 
cent, I shall by way of prevention solve this doubt. One 
article of our faith then is, that Christ is the First-begotten of 
God, and we have already proved Him to be the very Logos, 
or universal Reason, of Which mankind are all partakers ; and 
therefore those who live by reason are in some sort Christians,^ 

^ For the better understanding of this passage, which is so severely 
excepted against by Daille, Casaubon, and others, you are to observe in 
what sense our Justin uses the word \oyoi ; and his notion is plainly this, 
that Christ was the Eternal Xoyoi or Wisdom of His Father, the -koyo; 
I'thiaiiTOi Kx, olffiwh;, the inward substantial Word of His Father, the 
Fountain of Reason, as the sun is the fountain of light, and that from Him 
there was a X'oyos or Reason naturally derived into every man, as a beam 
and emanation of light from that sun ; to which purpose Origen, who is 
exactly of the same opinion, expounds that of St. John, " In the beginning 



The First Apology of Jits tin Martyr. (57) 

notwithstanding they may pass with you for atheists. Such 
among the Greeks were Socrates and HeracHtus, and the like ; 
and such among the barbarians were Abraham, and Ananias, 
and Azarias, and Misael, and Ehas, and many others, whose 
actions, nay, whose very names, I know, would be tedious to 
relate, and therefore shall pass them over ; so, on the other 
side, those who have lived in defiance of reason, were un- 
christian, and enemies to the Logos, and such as lived 
according to Him; but they who make reason the rule of 
their actions are Christians, men of undaunted courage and 
untroubled consciences, for whose sake the Logos, by the will 
of God, the Father and Lord of all, was by the very power of 
Himself made man in the womb of a virgin, ^ and was named 

was the Logos, and the Logos was with God, and the Logos was God. 
That was the true Light that lighteth every man that cometh into the 
world," Orig. Cotii. in Joan. p. 25, "vide eliaui, p. 40. Upon this same 
occdiSion ]\xsi\n, m hi?, Seco7id Apology, p. 46, calls Christ the toZ Tavro; 
x'oyov, " the universal Word or Reason." And Heraclitus, and those who 
lived according to reason in part, are here said to live xaTo. ffrip[/.a.TtKoZ 
Xoyov fiipo;, according to the seminal word sown in their nature. Now, in- 
asmuch as by this " Logos all things were created, that are in heaven and 
that are in the earth " (Col. i. 16), the effect must in some measure par- 
take of the efficient. The case then, in short, is no more than this, every 
man is naturally endued with reason, as a light kindled from Him who is 
the Logos or Wisdom of His Father, and may be so far said to partake of 
Christ, the original Wisdom ; and so far as they live "after the image of 
Him that created them," may be said xaru. Xoyov jiiouv, and in this sense 
be called Christians, But Justin nowhere affirms that the Gentiles might 
be saved without the entertainment of Christianity ; for in many places 
in this Apology you find him denouncing eternal fire against such as 
refuse to embrace the faith ; but only so far as those who never heard 
of the gospel lived up to reason, so far were they akin to the original 
Logos, and in some sort Christians. And that whatever was rightly taught 
by Socrates among the Greeks, or by others among the barbarians, was in 
effect done by the Logos Himself, " the Word made flesh." 

^ A/a Ivvk/xsm; tov Xoyov. Section 43, " The Spirit and Power of 
God " which overshadowed the virgin, our Justin interprets to be the 
Spirit and Power of the very Logos. And here again he says, the Logos 



(58) The First Apology of Justin Martyr. 

Jesus, and was crucified, and died, and rose again from the 
dead, and went again into heaven ; all which I have proved at 
large, and is very intelligible to any person of honest under- 
standing. And because enough has been said upon this 
head, I shall proceed to others, which at present seem more 
necessary. 

begot Himself; and that of St. Luke i. 35, '^rnZf^'/. uyiov and ^vvetfin 
v-^itrrov, " the Holy Spirit and the Power of the Most High." Tertullian 
likewise expounds of the very Logos, adv. Prax. c. 26. This, I confess, 
seemed to me at first sight a very harsh interpretation, but finding, upon 
second thoughts, that it related not to His eternal generation, but only to 
that in time and in the womb of a virgin, I concluded that these Fathers 
could mean no more than what the Scriptures plainly say, viz. that He 
took upon Himself our flesh, and made Himself man in the womb of a 
virgin. But then this interpretation manifestly overthrows what the 
author of the Reasonableness of Christianity would insinuate, pp. 199, 200, 
201, and elsewhere, that Christ was only the Son of God, because He was 
conceived in the womb of a virgin by the immediate power of God : 
"Adam," says he, "is called the son of God (Luke iii. 38), and had this 
part of his Father's image, viz. that he was immortal ; but Adam trans- 
gressing, forfeited his immortality, and begot children after his own image, 
mortal like their father ; but God willing to bestow eternal life on mortal 
men, sends Jesus Christ into the world, who being conceived in the 
womb of a virgin by the immediate power of God, was properly the 
Son of God, according to what the angel declared to His mother (Luke 
i. 30-35). And being the Son of God, and not having forfeited that 
Sonship by any transgression, He was the Heir of Eternal Life, as Adam 
should have been, had he continued in his filial duty." But now, not 
to ask how Christ can be said to be the only, and the only begotten Son of 
God upon the account aforesaid, when Adam was the first man, and 
without either father or mother, immediately formed by God Himself, and 
therefore called expressly the son of God (Luke iii. 38) ; not to ask this, 
I say, our Martyr, who most certainly was fully acquainted with this grand 
article of the Christian faith, has put it beyond dispute, that Christ was 
not properly the Son, the only begotten Son of God, because conceived by 
the power of the Most High ; for He interprets this " Most High" of the 
very Logos Himself, and more than once. And if Christ is God, as Justin 
in this Apology expressly calls Him, and above twenty times in his other 
writings, then His human generation may very justly be ascribed to Him- 
self as God. 



The First Apology of JiLstin Martyr. (59) 

LXII. Because then it was foretold by the prophetic Spirit 
that the land of the Jews should be laid desolate, hear the 
words of the prophecy, which personate a people in a maze at 
what had befallen them : " Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a 
desolation, our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers 
praised Thee, is burnt up with fire, and all our pleasant things 
are laid waste. And Thou refrainest Thyself for these things, 
and dost hold Thy peace, and afflict us very sore " (Isa. Ixiv. 
10, II, 12). And what a desolation Jerusalem has been, 
according to this prediction, you yourselves know with a 
witness. It was, moreover, prophesied concerning this desola- 
tion, that not a Jew should be tolerated to live there ; for 
thus Isaiah has it, " Your country is desolate, strangers 
devour it in your presence, and there is none to inhabit " 
(Isa. i. 7). And what care you have taken of fulfilling this 
prophecy, you need not be told, for you have made it capital 
in a Jew to set a foot in his own country.^ 

LXIII. And how it was foretold that our Christ should cure 
all diseases and raise the dead, you may learn from hence : 
" At His coming the lame shall leap like a stag, and the tongue 
of the dumb shall be eloquent, the lepers shall be cleansed, 
and the dead shall rise and walk about " (Isa. xxxv. 6). 
And how He performed these miracles, you may easily be 
satisfied from the acts of Pontius Pilate, and how the prophetic 
Spirit declared beforehand that both He and those who trusted 
in Him should lose their lives, I refer you to this passage in 
Isaiah : " Behold, how the righteous perisheth, and no man 
layeth it to heart ; and merciful men are taken away, none 
considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil 
to come ; he shall go in peace, he is taken from among us " 
(Isa. Ivii. I, 2). Again, you may see how it was pubhshed by 

^ Concernini]; this interdict against the Jews entering into the Holy 
Land under pain of death, see Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. iv. c. 4, and 
Tertull. Apol. c. 21. 



(6o) The First Apology of Justin Martyr. 

the same Isaiah, that the Gentiles who expected Him not, 
should worship Him ; but the Jews, who were always in 
expectation of Him, should not know Him, even when He 
was come unto them. The words are delivered in the per- 
son of Christ, and run thus : "I am sought of them that 
asked not for me : I am found of them that sought me not : 
I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not 
called by my name. I have spread out my hands unto a 
rebellious people, which walketh in no good way, but after 
their own thoughts ; a people that provoketh me to anger 
continually to my face " (Isa. Ixv. 1-3). For the Jews, who 
had these oracles in keeping, and were always up in expecta- 
tion of the Messiah, saw Him not when before their eyes ; 
and not only overlooked Him, but abused Him to the last 
degree of ignominy. But the Gentiles, who sat in darkness 
and had heard nothing of Christ till after His apostles went 
from Jerusalem, and expounded the things concerning Him, 
and published the prophecies, — these people, I say, were 
filled with joy and faith at the glad tidings, and both re- 
nounced their idols, and also consecrated themselves to the 
Unbegotten God through Christ.^ And that the infamous 
stories spread about against the professors of Christ, and the 
miseries that should befall the spreaders of them, and such as 
value themselves so mightily for adhering to the customs of 
their forefathers, that all these things were foreknown, you may 
easily perceive from this short passage in Isaiah, " Woe be to 
them who call bitter sweet, and sweet bitter " (Isa. v. 20). 

LXIV. Moreover, that He was to be made man for the sake 
of mankind, and that He should be contented to suffer, and 
to be treated in the most dishonourable manner, and at length 
come again in glory, I shall propose to your observation the 

^ That this was the ancient form of words proclaimed by the deacon, 
upon the dismission of such catechumens from the Church as were shortly 
to be baptized ; see Dr. Grabe's notes upon the place. 



The First Apology of Justin Martyr. (6 1 ) 

prophecies upon this head. " Because He hath poured out 
His soul unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors 
and bare the sin of many, and made atonement for the trans- 
gressors " (Isa. Hii. 12). "Behold, my Servant shall deal 
prudently, He shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. 
As many were astonished at Thee ; His visage was so much 
marred, more than any man, and His form more than the sons 
of men : so shall many nations admire, and the kings shall 
shut their mouths at Him : for that which had not been told 
them shall they see, and that which they had not heard shall 
they understand" (Isa. lii. 13-15). " Lord, who hath believed 
our report ? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed ? 
For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as 
a root out of a dry ground : He hath no form or comeliness ; 
and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should 
desire Him. He is despised and rejected of men ; a man of 
sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our 
faces from Him ; He was despised, and we esteemed Him 
not. Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows : 
yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 
But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was wounded 
for our iniquities : the chastisement of our peace was upon 
Him ; and with His stripes are we healed. All we like sheep 
have gone astray ; we have turned every one to his own way ; 
and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He 
was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His 
mouth : He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a 
sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He opened not His 
mouth. He was taken away by distress and judgment" (Isa. 
liii. 1-8). Accordingly, upon His crucifixion His disciples all 
deserted and denied Him, but upon the sight of their Master 
just risen from the dead, and when He had let their under- 
standings into the prophecies where this whole scene of 
suffering and triumph was described, and had made His 
ascension into heaven before their eyes, and thus fully cori- 



(62) The First Apology of Just ui iMartyr. 

vinced them, and showered down upon them the powers of 
the Spirit, they went out in the strength thereof into every 
nation, preaching these things, and from their mission were 
called apostles. 

LXV. And to acquaint us that the sufferer of all this was 
of a generation inexplicable, and that He should rule over 
His enemies, the prophetic Spirit speaks thus : " Who shall 
declare His generation ? for He was cut off out of the land 
of the living, for the transgression of My people was He 
stricken ; and He made His grave with the wicked, and the 
rich in His death, because He had done no violence, neither 
was any deceit in His mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to 
bruise Him ; He hath put Him to grief. When Thou shalt 
make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He 
shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall 
prosper in His hand. He shall see of the travail of His soul, 
and shall be satisfied. By His knowledge shall My righteous 
Servant justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities. 
Therefore will I divide Him a portion with the great, and He 
shall divide the spoil with the strong, because He has poured 
out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the 
transgressors, and made intercession for many " (Isa. liii. 
8-12). Hear another prophecy concerning His ascension: 
" Lift up the gates of heaven, and be ye lift up, ye everlast- 
ing doors, that the King of glory may enter in. Who is the 
King of glory ? The Lord strong, the Lord mighty in battle " 
(Ps. xxiv. 7, 8). And that you may see how He is to come 
again from heaven in glory, I will give you the prophecy of 
Daniel : " Behold, the Son of man came with the clouds of 
heaven, and His angels with Him " (Dan. vii. 13). 

LXVL Since therefore we thus demonstrably prove that 
the things now come to pass were proclaimed by the prophets 
long before the events, how can we withhold from believing 



The First Apology of Justin Martyr. (63) 

that the prophecies as yet unfulfilled will as verily be ac- 
complished in their season as those we now see verified with 
our own eyes ? For as these were once foretold and dis- 
believed, and yet came to pass, so the remainder will be 
brought to as certain an issue, in spite of ignorance and in- 
fidelity ; for the very same prophets have foretold a twofold 
Advent of Christ, one wherein He was to come in the guise of 
an inglorious suffering mortal, and this is over; the other, 
wherein He shall come in His own form, encircled with 
celestial glory, and His host of angels, when He shall raise 
from the dead all the men that ever had a being,i and shall 
invest the righteous with bodies incorruptible, and make the 
ungodly, together with these wicked spirits, feel His vengeance 
in fire everlasting. 

LXVII. And the prophetic predictions concerning this 
second Advent you have thus delivered by Ezekiel : *' The 
bones came together, bone to his bone, and the flesh came 
upon them " (Ezek. xxxvii. 7, 8). " And every knee shall bow 
to the Lord, and every tongue shall confess Him " (Isa. xlv. 23). 
And for the pains and torments the wicked shall undergo 
hereafter, pray consider these words : " Their worm shall not 
die, neither shall their fire be quenched " (Isa. Ixvi. 24). And 
then shall they repent, when repentance shall be too late. 
And what the unbelieving Jews will say and do in that day, 
when they shall see Him coming in His glory, the prophet 
Zechariah describes in this manner : " Ho, ho, come forth, 
and flee from the land of the north, for I have spread you 
abroad as the four winds of the heavens " (Zech. ii. 6). " And 
then will I make Jerusalem a cup of trembling, not of trembling 

^ Here again you see Justin Martyr, as clear and express as words can 
make him, for a general resurrection to eternal happiness or misery, "a 
resurrection of all the men that ever had a being," against Mr. Dodwell, 
in his Epistolary Discourse above cited. Vide Sozom. Hist, Eccl. lib. i. 
c. iii. versus fineni. 



(64) The First Apology of Justin Martyr. 

with the countenance only, but in their heart, and shall rend 
not their garments, but their minds. And tribe shall mourn 
to tribe. And they shall look upon Him whom they pierced " 
(Zech. xii. 2, 10, 12 1), and shall say: "O Lord, why hast 
Thou made us to err from Thy ways ? The glory which our 
forefathers were blessed with is turned to our reproach " (Isa. 
Ixiii. 17, Ixiv. 11). 

LXVIII. I have a great many other prophecies in store, 
but I forbear, concluding what has been produced to be 
enough in reason for the conviction of such as have ears that 
will admit them to a fair hearing, and understandings prepared 
for truth. I can hardly persuade myself that you can take 
us for such romancers as those who dress up stories about 
the fictitious progeny of Jove, mighty talkers, but able to 
prove nothing. For what motive could ever possibly have 
persuaded us to believe a crucified man to be the First- 
begotten of the Unbegotten God, and that He should come 
to be the judge of all the world, had we not met with those 
prophetic testimonies of Him proclaimed so long before His 
incarnation? Were we not eye-witnesses to the fulfilling of 
them? Did we not see the desolation of Judaea, and men 
out of all nations proselyted to the faith by His apostles, and 
renouncing the ancient errors they were brought up in ? Did 
we not find the prophecies made good in ourselves, and see 
Christians in greater number and in greater sincerity from 
among the Gentiles than from the Jews and Samaritans? 
For all sorts of people are by the prophetic Spirit styled 
Gentiles ; but the Jews and Samaritans stand distinguished by 
the name of the house of Israel and Jacob. 

LXIX. And how this also was foretold that there should 

^ These are various passages out of the prophet Zechariab, as they 
occurred to the memory of Justin, and the sense, and not the express 
words set down by him. 



The First Apology of Justin Martyr. (65) 

be more believers from the Gentiles than from the Jews and 
Samaritans, I propose this prophecy to your consideration : 
"Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into 
singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child : 
for more are the children of the desolate than the children of 
the married wife " (Isa. liv. i). The Gentiles were the desolate, 
a people not cultivated by the true God, but bewildered in the 
worship of the works of their own hands ; but the Jews and 
Samaritans had the Word of God delivered to them by the pro- 
phets, and were always in expectation of the Christ ; and yet, 
when present, they had eyes and saw Him not, except a small 
remnant, whom the prophetic Spirit foretold should be saved. 
He speaks thus in the person of the people : " Except the Lord 
of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should 
have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto 
Gomorrah " (Isa. i. 9). Now Sodom and Gomorrah are related 
by Moses to be cities whose inhabitants were abominably 
wicked people, and ^^'hich God destroyed with fire and brim- 
stone, and saved not one alive, except a Chaldean foreigner 
called Lot and his daughters ; and that all this country is a 
desert, and burnt up, and barren to this day, they who will 
give themselves the trouble may see the truth of it with their 
own eyes. And how the Gentiles should become the truest 
and most faithful converts, the prophet Jeremiah thus inti- 
mates : "All the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the 
heart, but the Gentiles in the foreskin " (Jer. ix. 26). 

LXX. So many, therefore, and such mighty proofs as your 
own eyes are witnesses to cannot fail, methinks, of generating 
a firm and rational faith in the minds of those who are lovers 
of truth, and not carried away with opiniatrety and passion ; 
but the instructors of your youth, who read them lectures out 
of the fables of the poets, never let them into the ground of 
these fictions. And that they are the work of devilcraft only, 
the better to delude mankind and hold them in darkness, I 



(66) The First Apology of liistiii Martyr. 

shall now prove.^ For these devilish spirits no sooner under- 
stood by the prophets that Christ was to come, and the ungodly 
to be punished with fire, but they trumped up that crew of 
Jove's sons abovesaid, imagining by this forgery to debauch 
the world into an opinion, that these prophecies concerning 
Christ were just such another pack of lies as the fables of the 
poets ; and these stories they divulged among the Greeks and 
all the Gentiles, when they learned from the prophets that 
these were the people that should mostly come over to the 
Christian faith ; but not diving far enough into the sense of 
the prophets, they attempted to copy after them, and, like 
men in the dark, blundered in their imitation, as I shall now 
show you. 

LXXI. The prophet Moses, then, as I have said, was the 

^ The Son of God no sooner enters upon His prophetic oftice but the 
devil attacks Him in person and from Scripture ; for as far as he was 
able to form any conjecture from Scripture concerning the state of the new ~ 
King and Kingdom, so far he endeavoured to impose upon the Word, by 
rivalling it in his kingdom of darkness. He had his Perseus, the son of 
Jove by a virgin, he had his priests and sacrifices, his baptisms and mock 
communions, etc. He had reigned a long time as the god of this world, 
and taken possession everywhere but in Judaea, and was in the most 
flourishing condition when Christ came down to destroy his kingdom ; 
and though these evil spirits did confess and tremble, and flee before Him, 
yet did their power continue for some ages after, and seems to be permitted 
by Providence so to do, on purpose as one great argument to proselytise 
the world by ; for to their power over evil spirits do the first Christians 
constantly appeal upon all occasions. Now, after so much evidence from 
Scripture and antiquity, to say, as some have done, that possessions were 
nothing but diseases ; and oracles and the like were all pure priestcraft, 
which the Fathers by the true name call devilcraft, is in short to say any- 
thing to render the name of priest in general odious. But if the Christians 
of the first ages did cast out devils so frequently, as they say they did, and 
which you will find in the Apologies they insist upon oftener than in any 
one thing in their writings, then I leave it to any considering person, 
what deference is due to the judgments of those who were gifted with such 
a miraculous power for the propagation of the Christian doctrine. 



The First Apology of Justin Martyr. (67) 

ancientest of writers, and he delivered this prophecy, which I 
liave already quoted : " The sceptre shall not depart from 
Jiidah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh 
come ; and unto Him shall the gathering of the people be ; 
binding His foal unto the vine, and washing His garments in 
the blood of the grape" (Gen. xlix. 10, 11). Upon hearing 
these prophetic words, the devils set up Bacchus for the son of 
Jove, and make him the inventor of the vine, and introduce 
an ass into his mysteries, and give out that after he was torn 
in pieces he ascended into heaven.^ And because it is not 
expressly determined in this prophecy of Moses, whether He 
Who was to come was the Son of God, and whether He who 
should ride upon the foal was to continue upon earth, or to 
ascend into heaven ; and the word foal denoting either the 
foal of an ass or a mare, not knowing, I say, which of the 
two was to be a symbol of His Advent, or whether He should 
be the Son of God or man, they proclaimed Bellerophon, a 
mere man of man, to have ascended up to heaven upon his 
horse Pegasus. Moreover, finding by another prophet, Isaiah, 
that He was to be born of a virgin, and ascend to heaven by 
Himself, they forged a Perseus to mimic Him in this also. 
And when they saw Him described by the prophecies, " Re- 
joicing as a giant to run his course," they preached up the 
giant Hercules running over the whole earth. And again, 
perceiving by the prophets that He was to cure all sorts of 
diseases, and to raise the dead, they palmed their ^Esculapius 
upon the world to ape Him in this also. 

LXXH. But here the devils were out in their politics not 
to have one of Jove's sons crucified in imitation of Christ. 

^ These several instances of diabolical imitation you may find more 
particularly illustrated by our Justin in his excellent Dialogue with Trypho 
the Jew ; and to the less knowing I would recommend that done into 
English by no ill hand. I have consulted Dr. Grabe's Spicilegium for 
changing eTvov into ovav, and think his reasons conclusive. 



(68) The First Apology of Jtistin Martyr. 

But this, as I have showed you, being symbolically represented, 
they could not spell out the meaning of the symbol ; though 
the cross, according to the prophet, was the greater character- 
istic of His power and government, and is visible almost in 
everything you see. For cast your eyes upon the world, and 
tell me whether anything is transacted, any commerce main- 
tained, without the resemblance of a cross? Without this 
trophy of ours you cannot go to sea, for navigation depends 
upon sails, and they are made in fashion of a cross ; ^ there is 
neither ploughing nor digging, nor any handicraft work per- 
formed without instruments of this figure; nay, a man is 
distinguished from a beast by the uprightness of his body 
and the extension of his arms, and the prominency of the 
nose he breathes through, which are all representations of the 
cross, in allusion to which the prophet thus speaks : " The 
breath of our nostrils Christ the Lord."^ Moreover, your 
banners declare the power of this figure, and the trophies you 

1 Concerning the sign of the Cioss, you will find among all the earliest 
writers of the Church that they constantly made use of it, not only in the 
Sacrament of Baptism, but. in all the common actions of life ; for Ter- 
tuUian, de Cor. Mil. c. iii. p. 102, tells us "that upon every motion, at 
their going out and coming in, at their going to the bath, or to bed, or to 
meals, or whatever their employment or occasions called them to, they 
were wont, ' frontem signaculo terere,' to make the sign of the cross upon 
their forehead; and this they did," he moreover adds, "not that it was 
imposed by any law of Christ, but introduced by a pious custom as a 
sensible means to revive their faith, and remind them of their Lord, and 
to let the heathen world see that they gloried in their crucified Master, 
who was foolishness to the Gentile and a stumbling-block to the Jew upon 
this very account." But how far they were from adoring a cross, as was 
objected against them, you will see sufficiently answered and ridiculed in 
the following Apology. 

^ These words are literally understood of King Josiah or Zedekiah, but 
mystically applied by the Fathers in general to our Saviour Christ, and 
this occasioned by the version of the Septuagint, which has not zP"^'^^^ 
Kvp'tou, "the anointed of the Lord," as Josiah was, but XP"^'^°' avpto?, 
"Christ the Lord," which can hardly be understood of any but our 
Saviour Christ. See Dr. Grabe's notes upon this place. 



The Fh'st Apology of Justin Martyr. (69) 

use everywhere in your public processions ^ are symbols of 
power and dominion, although in your practice you have no 
respect to the reason of the figure ; and the images of your 
departed emperors you consecrate upon cross -like engines, 
and inscribe them gods. Since, therefore, we invite you by 
reason and the ceremony of the cross, so much in vogue 
among you, we know we shall be blameless for the future, 
whether you embrace the faith or not, for we have done our 
best to make you Christians.^ 

LXXIII. But these restless demons, not contented to foist 
upon the Gentile world the fictitious sons of Jove before the 
coming of Christ, but even after His appearance and public 
converse with men, when they found by the prophets that all 
nations should come to fix their faith and expectation on 
Him, they raised up another set of impostors, namely, Simon 
and Menander, both Samaritans, who by their magic arts have 
imposed upon many, and do as yet hold them in the same 
delusion ; for in the reign of Claudius Caesar, in your imperial 
city of Rome, there was one Simon, as I told you, who be- 
witched the sacred Senate and the Roman people into that 
astonishment of his person as to conceit him a god, and to 
honour him with a statue like the other gods. Wherefore our 
petition is, that you would communicate this Apology^ both to 
the sacred Senate and to the people of Rome, that if any of 
them should chance to be hampered in his doctrines, they 
might, upon this information, disengage themselves from the 

^ Here- is a desideratum, which I have filled up and connected as well 
as I can. 

^ I desire the reader once again to take notice of this expression, oV» 
SJva^ij, which cannot possibly, I think, signify in this place anything else 
than what I have translated it, viz. " We have done our best ; " because 
this expression has been urged against set forms of prayer, with how little 
reason I shall show anon, when 1 come to the passage from whence they 
urge it. 



( jo) The Fu'st Apology of Jttstin Martyr. 

error; and we likewise pray that you would be pleased to 
pull down his statue. 

LXXIV. These seducing spirits likewise do all they can to 
smother the notion of hell- fire, but to as little purpose as 
they attempted to stifle the coming of Christ from the know- 
ledge of the world ; for all they can do is only to prevail 
with unreasonable people, such as have been slaves to their 
lusts, and blindly take up with the opinions in fashion ; these, 
I say, are the only people they work upon to hunt us out of 
our lives ; and yet to these mortal enemies are we so far from 
returning hatred for hatred, that from our hearts we pity them, 
and desire nothing more than to bring them over to a better 
mind. For we are under no concern for death, being very 
sensible that all must die, and that there is nothing new 
under the sun, but what has been is. And if nothing here 
below will satisfy the owners thereof, no, not the year about, 
so as to secure their minds from wants and passions, the only 
way left is to apply to our religion for that satisfaction which 
is nowhere else to be found. But if they believe nothing 
after death, and are positive, that the dead depart into a state 
of insensibihty, they do indeed befriend us in effect by dis- 
charging us from the present sufferings and hardships of this 
life ; but then they show themselves wicked, spiteful, and 
positive to the last degree in this their opinion ; for though 
they do free us from all evil by destroying us, yet they do it 
not with this intent, but to deprive us only of life, and all the 
pleasures that belong to it. 

LXXV. Another prime agent for the kingdom of darkness, 
whom these spirits of wickedness brought upon this stage, was 
one Marcion of Pontus, whom I have already mentioned. 
This fellow now teaches his followers to deny God, the Maker 
of heaven and earth, and His Son Christ proclaimed by the 
prophets, and preaches up another god besides the Creator, 



The First Apology of Justin Martyr. {^^ \^ 

and another son besides His Christ, upon whom abundance of 
people pin their faith as the only teacher of the truth, and make 
a mock at us, without so much as offering us a proof of their 
own assertions ; but are blindly carried off like lambs by a wolf, 
and made a prey to his wicked doctrines, and to the devils, 
the contrivers of them. For the only prize these same spirits 
contend for is to seduce mankind from God the Creator, and 
from the First-begotten Christ. And such grovelling minds as 
cannot lift themselves from earth, they did and do fasten to 
earthen gods, gods made with hands, and fitted to the minds 
of the worshippers ; but upon men of a more exalted genius, 
and enured to divine contemplations, they practise more slyly ; 
and if they are not persons of sound judgment, and pious 
lives, and disengaged from passion, they throw them down 
from their speculations into very gross impieties. 

LXXVI. But to let you see that not only your poets, but 
Plato himself, borrowed from our Master (I mean from the 
Logos Who spake by the prophets), I must tell you that what 
he teaches concerning God's creating the world out of a chaos 
of rude matter is none of his own ; for, hear the express 
words of Moses aforesaid, the greatest of prophets, and older 
than any of the Grecian writers, by whom the prophetic Spirit, 
showing how, and out of what sort of matter God made the 
world in the beginning, thus speaks : " In the beginning God 
created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without 
form, and void ; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. 
And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 
And God said. Let there be light : and there was light." And 
that this chaos, first mentioned by Moses, was the subject- 
matter out of which the Logos of God made the world, both 
Plato and his followers and we are agreed ; and you your- 
selves may soon be satisfied as to this point. And what your 
poets call Erebus, or hell, is spoken of by Moses also. (Deut. 

XXxii. 2 2.) 



(72) The First Apology of Justin Martyr. 

LXXVII. And whereas Plato, in his Timceus, philosophising 
about the Son of God, says, " He expressed Him upon the 
universe in the figure of the letter X ; " ^ he evidently took 
the hint from Moses ; for in the Mosaic writings it is related 
that after the Israelites went out of Egypt, and were in the 
desert, they were set upon and destroyed by venomous beasts, 
vipers, asps, and all sorts of serpents, and that Moses there- 
upon, by particular inspiration from God, took brass and made 
the sign of the cross, and placed it by the holy tabernacle, 
and declared that " if people would look upon that cross, and 
believe, they should be saved ; " ^ upon which he writes that 
the serpents died, and by this means the people were saved. 
Plato upon reading this passage, and not knowing it to be a 
type of the cross, and having only the idea of the letter X in 
his mind, said, that the next power to the Supreme God was 
decussated or figured in the shape of a cross upon the uni- 
verse ; and finding by Moses " that the Spirit of God moved 
upon the face of the waters," he likewise mentions a third, for 
he gives the second place to the Logos of God decussated 
upon the world ; and the third place he assigns to the Spirit, 
which is said to " move upon the face of the waters," thus 
expressing himself, "The third about the third." ^ And how 
the prophetic Spirit has foretold the general conflagration by 
the mouth of Moses, you may perceive from these words : 
" An everlasting fire shall descend and burn unto the lowest 
hell " (Deut. xxxii. 22). 

LXXVHI.* It is not therefore we who take our opinions 

1 See Sylburg upon this place at the end of Dr. Grabe's edition. 

^ 'Eav 'PTpotr^xi'T'/jTi. These words of Moses are not extant in Holy 
Scripture, though the sense is, Num. xxi. 9 ; nor are those of the author 
of the Epistle to the Hebrews (xii. 21); and so perhaps both quoted 
out of the same Apocryphal Book of Moses which might be then extant. 

^ See Dr. Grabe's notes upon this passage of Plato. 

* This section alone I think sufficient to vindicate our Justin from the 
aspersions of Daniel Zuicker and others, who charge him with Platonizing 



TJie First Apology of Justin Martyr. {'Ji) 

from others, but others take theirs from us \ for you may hear 
and learn these things from such among us as are not able to 
distinguish a letter : rude indeed, and barbarous in speech, 
but in mind wise and faithful, and some of them lame and 
blind ; and from hence you might plainly see that Christianity 
is not owing to human wisdom, but to the power of God. 

LXXIX. I shall now lay before you the manner of dedi- 
cating ourselves to God through Christ upon our conversion ; 
for should I omit this, I might seem not to deal sincerely in 
this account of the Christian religion. As many therefore as 
are persuaded and believe ^ that the things taught and said by 

in the great doctrine of the Trinity ; they well knew the authority of this 
martyr in the Christian Church, and how frequently and expressly he 
asserts the divinity of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ; and therefore 
resolved to invalidate his testimony by charging him with introducing the 
Trinity from Plato's school. But hear the martyr in this place obviating 
this calumny, as if he prophetically foresaw what would be charged upon 
him. He had a little before said " that Plato had learned that the 
world was made by the Logos, and that the Third Person in the Godhead, 
viz. the Spirit, was not unknown to him;" and then adds, "that we 
take not our opinion from others, but others from us." This is express, 
that neither Justin nor any of the Christians derived the doctrine of the 
Logos's creating the world from the Platonic writings, but they from the 
writings of the prophets. Moreover, he declares before the Emperor and 
Senate, that this was no singular opinion of his own, but the doctrine of the 
Catholic Church ; and that this tremendous mystery was so commonly 
known to every Christian, that the most illiterate amongst them, such as 
could not read their alphabet, could discourse more clearly about it than 
even Plato himself. And from hence he justly concludes that the Chris- 
tians learned this doctrine of the ever-blessed Trinity, oh ffo(piix, avSpwrita, 
" not from the Platonists," etc., but 'hwa.fjtu &iou, " from the divinely-inspired 
writings," and what was taught everywhere in the churches. 

^ The Church, being founded by Christ as a society and corporation 
distinct from that of the Commonwealth, is by the nature of its con- 
stitution (had it no express warrant from Scripture) invested with an 
inherent power of its own, independent of the civil magistrate, of ad- 
mitting, censuring, or excluding her members, and of doing whatever 
else is necessary for the peace and order of the Christian community. 



(74) ^/^^ /^/W/ Apology of Justin Martyr. 

us are true, and moreover take upon them to live accordingly, 
are taught to pray and ask of God with fasting for forgive- 
ness of their former sins, we praying together, and fasting for 
and with them, and then, and not till then, they are brought 
to a place of water,^ and there regenerated after the same 
manner with ourselves ; for they are washed in the name of 
God the Father and Lord of all, and of our Saviour Jesus 
Christ ; for Christ has said, " Unless you are born again, you 
cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven" (John iii. 3, 5). 

Accordingly, faith and repentance are here required as necessary qualifica- 
tions in persons adult before they can be admitted to church membership 
by baptism ; and then, says Justin, they are brought to a place of water. 
Not presently (for you are not to look upon this as an exact account of all 
the particular circumstances either in baptism or the Eucharist), for the 
candidates for baptism were catechised all the forty days of Lent (which 
is the fasting, I believe, Justin refers to in this place), and then, upon 
approbation, baptized at Easter or "Whitsuntide. These were the two 
stated times of baptism ; not Easterday or Whitsunday precisely, but the 
whole intermediate space of the fifty days between them were in a manner 
accounted festival, and baptism administered the whole time ; not but in a 
case of necessity, of sickness, and danger of death, they might be baptized 
at any time. But the persons so baptized were called clinics, because Iv t? 
xx/yj! ^cfrnZfifiitoi, "baptized in bed;" and this kind of baptism looked wpon 
as less solemn and perfect, because it was done not by immersion but 
sprinkling, and because the persons were supposed at such a time to desire 
it out of a fear of death ; for which reason, if they recovered, they were 
ordinarily made incapable by the Neocsesarian Council of being admitted 
to the degree of presbyters in the Church. Can. 12. 

^ "They were brought to a place of water." It is evident from this 
place of Justin, and that of Tertullian, de Cor. Mil. c. 3, that ponds and 
rivers were the only baptisteries or fonts the Church had for the first 
two hundred years. After the second century, baptisteries were erected 
at a little distance from churches, especially cathedrals, called therefore 
baptismal churches. The catechumen, or rather the competent, being 
brought to the baptistery, was placed with his face toward the west, the 
symbolical representation of the prince of darkness, and then commanded 
to spit at and renounce the service of his old master the devil, and was 
thus interrogated, "Dost thou renounce the devil and all his works?" 
etc. ; to which the party answered, " I do renounce them." '* Dost thou 



The First Apology of Justin Mai^tyr. (75) 

But you all know it is impossible to enter a second time into 
our mother's womb. And in allusion to this, the prophet Isaiah, 
in the words below cited, speaks, when he prescribes the method 
by which repenting sinners may avoid the consequence of their 
sins : " Wash ye, make you clean ; put away the evil of your 
doings ; learn to do well ; judge the fatherless, and plead for 
the widow. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the 
Lord : though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white 
as snow ; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as 

renounce the world and all its pomps and vanities?" Answer, " I do 
renounce them," Anibr. de Sacram. 1. i. c. 2, torn. 4, p. 429 ; Hier. in 
Amos vi. Agreeable to this is that in the Apostolical Constitutions^ lib. vii. 
* A.voru.ivaftat ru ictravei Koi rals 'ipyoii avTov^ etc. Next he made an open 
confession of the faith, the bishop asking, "Dost thou believe in God?" 
etc. ; to which the person answered, "I do believe." And this form of 
interrogation is the apostle thought to refer to when he styles baptism 
" The answer of a good conscience towards God." And our own Office of 
Baptism does exactly agree in this with the primitive practice. Then was 
he stripped of his garments, intimating thereby "the putting off the old 
man," and thrice plunged under water at the naming of the Three Persons 
in the blessed Trinity. The ancients carefully observed this trine immer- 
sion, as being so expressive a ceremony of the Three Persons in the 
Godhead ; insomuch that by the Canons Apostolical, either bishop or 
presbyter who baptized without it was deposed from the ministry. Can. 
50. Though this trine immersion, not being of absolute necessity, was 
laid aside in Spain by the Church, that they might not seem to gratify the 
Arians, who made use of it to denote the Persons in the Trinity to be 
three distinct substances, and gloried that the Catholics used it to denote 
the same. The person baptized, being come out of the water, was clothed 
with a white garment, hence that expression of putting on Christ ; and from 
these white garments our Whitsunday. The putting on this white vesture, 
the exorcism, and the unction, are all in the Liturgy of Edward the Sixth, 
according to the custom of the ancients. Though we find none of these, 
nor many other things mentioned here by Justin, no not the cross in 
baptism, which we are sure was a constant ceremony ; for Tertullian says 
that the devil signed his soldiers in the forehead, in imitation of the 
Christians, " Mithra signat illic in frontibus milites suos," Ter. de Fmscri/>. 
c. 40. And St. Augustin says that the cross and baptism were never parted, 
"Semper enim cruci baptismusjungitur," .J //0-. Temp. Ser. loi. 



(76) The First Apology of Jitstin Alartyr, 

wool. But if you refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with 
the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it" (Isa. 
i. 16-20). 

LXXX. The reason of this we have from the apostles ; for 
having nothing to do in our first birth, but being begotten by 
necessity, or without our own consent, and trained up also in 
vicious customs and company, to the end therefore we might 
continue no longer the children of necessity and ignorance, 
but of freedom and knowledge, and obtain remission of our 
past sins by virtue of this water, the penitent, who now makes 
his second birth an act of his own choice, has called over him 
the name of God the Father and Lord of all things ; (when 
we conduct the person to be baptized to the place of baptism 
we call God by no other name, because we have not any 
appellation for the ineffable majesty of God that can explain 
His nature ; and if any man pretends to that, we think him mad 
in the highest degree. This baptism is called illumination,^ 
because the minds of the catechumens who are thus washed 
are illuminated ;) and moreover the person baptized and illu- 
minated is baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, Who was 

^ "Illumination." Baptism was called by many names, as ;^«^/«-|«a, 
Pia.'T'rt'rfAa., ^ A(p6a,p<riu! 'ivdufza, Aovrpov ^roikiyyewnffieiS) '2<Ppx'yi^a, ^eorifffiov, etc. 
Grace, baptism, the vestment of incorruption, the laver of regeneration, 
the seal, illumination, etc., Nazian. de Baptis. ; the great variety of these 
denominations flowing from the several benefits occurring thereby. The 
most noble of these is what Justin calls here #«T/<r^ov, or Illumination, to 
which the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews (vi. 4) is thought to refer 
in the word " enlightened," It is styled illumination, first, as Justin says, 
because the understandings of those who are catechised antecedent to it are 
enlightened. Secondly, Because it is our first entrance into Christianity, 
and Christ is ro <p^;, that supereminent Light " which lighteth every man 
that Cometh into the world," those especially who are born again by 
baptism ; He being, as Nazianzen calls Him, " the same to the intellect 
as the sun to the sense." And, thirdly, because the prince of darkness 
was usually driven out by exorcism to make way for Christ, " the true 
Ligbt." 



The First Apology of Jitstin Martyr, {jy) 

crucified under Pontius Pilate,^ and in the name of the Holy 
Ghost, Who spake by the prophets, and foretold everything 
concerning Christ. 

LXXXL The devils no sooner heard of this baptism spoken 

^ 'E-rova^a^sra/ oVo^a, just before the parenthesis, and eir' ovofixros Xovirai, 
just after, are expressions which import the same. Now that which I 
remark from this passage of Justin Martyr is, that the very form of baptism 
instituted by our Lord Himself is here enlarged, for thus it runs — i-r ovof^K- 
7o; rod TIxtoo; oXtiv xu) ^iff^oTov hou, not.) l*i(rov Kpifrov, rov ffruvpohvroi ivt 
TiovTi'ot/ Tl'tXarov xxi tviv/iaktos * Ayiov o ^la, Ilpo(f)>iTMv Tpotxinpu^i toc x«t« tov 
^Uffovv ?r«yra : " In the name of the Father of all things, the Lord God, 
and of Jesus Christ, Who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and of the 
Holy Ghost, Who foretold by the prophets all things concerning Christ.", 
In the Clementine Constitutions the form of baptism stands thus, W 
ovofJUKTOi Tov u<TOffriiXeivro; Ilxrpog, tov IX^ovros Xpta-rov, rov fixpruptja-ivro; 
nxptxKkvrov, Clem. Constit. lib. vii., "In the name of the Father, Who sent ; 
of Christ, Who came ; and of the Comforter, Who bore witness." Now as 
different heresies arose, so they gave occasion for different paraphrases and 
enlargements, both in the form of baptism and the Creed. And this is 
the true reason why the Apostles' Creed is the simplest and shortest of 
any ; for it is evident that the Simonians, Cerinthians, Ebionites, etc. , 
scattered their heresies not at Rome, but in the East, and mostly in Asia. 
And accordingly Ignatius, in his epistles to the Asiatic Churches, does 
everywhere almost inveigh against the heretics, but commends the Romans 
for the purity of their faith. And Tertullian, in his Prcescription^ c. 36, 
calls the Roman Church "Statu faelicem Ecclesiam." From thence I 
cannot but take notice of the reasons of some great men against the 
antiquity of that which is commonly called the Apostles' Creed. They 
say, "That none of the first writers agree in delivering their faith in a 
certain form of words, and that therefore from thence it is clear that there 
was no common form delivered to all the Churches ; and if there had been 
any tradition after the times of the Council of Nice, of such a Creed com- 
posed by the apostles, the Arians had certainly put the chief strength of 
their cause on this, that they adhered to the Apostles' Creed in opposition 
to the innovations of the Nicene Fathers. And that there is no reason 
therefore to believe that this Creed was prepared by the apostles, or that 
it was of any great antiquity." The same sort of reasoning has Vossius 
made use of, de tryb. Symbol. But now it is confessed on all sides that in 
St. Paul's time there M'as a settled form in most Churches, which he calls 



(78) The First Apology of Justin Mai'tyr. 

of by the prophet,^ but they too set up their baptisms, and 
made such as go to their temples, and officiate in their Hba- 
tions and meat-offerings, first sprinkle themselves with water 
by way of lustration : ^ and they have now brought it to such 
a pass that the worshippers are washed from head to foot 
before they approach the sacred place where their images are 
kept. And whereas their adorers are commanded by priests 
to put off their shoes before they presume to enter the temples 

'* the form of doctrine that was delivered " (Rom. vi. 17), and in another 
place, " the form of sound words" {2 Tim. i. 13). It is certain also, that 
the Primitive Church, not far distant from the apostolic age, had a Creed 
resembling this, which passes for the Apostles', as to most particulars, 
and the substance of the articles, though with some variation, as is evident 
from Tertullian's Regula Fidei. Vide Tertul. de vel. virg. et Cypr. 
Epist. 7 and Epist. 70. And if we consider the manner of the Fathers, 
and Justin in particular, in citing even canonical Scripture, which was 
not always to consult the originals, but often to deliver it in such words 
as their memory suggested, provided they preserved the sense entire, 
we may conclude that from the same liberty in citing the Confession of 
Faith arose the diversity in creeds. And with all submission, I think that 
the men who argue against the antiquity of the Apostles' Creed from 
the variations among the Fathers, may as well argue against a set form 
in baptism from this variation in Justin Martyr. As heresies grew, so 
did the Creed, and the Fathers may with as good reason be presumed to 
enlarge the Apostles' Creed with explanatory additions only, as here we 
find the form of baptism, fixed by Christ Himself, enlarged in the time of 
this martyr ; but the form is the same in substance or essentials ; and the 
great Creed is called the Nicene, though many things were added to it by 
the Council of Constantinople, and some things since. 

^ Ezek. xxxvi. 25. 

2 That such mock-baptisms were set up by the contrivance of the devil 
in the Gentile world, we find not only asserted by Justin, but all the 
primitive writers, and particularly by Tertullian, de Baptisnw, c. 5, " Certe 
ludis Apollinaribus et Eleusiniis tinguntur, idque se in regenerationem et 
impunitatem perjuriorum suorum agere proesumunt." Thus were men 
initiated into the mysteries of Eleusis, and he who initiated them was 
called *t1fa.voi, the waterer ; 'T^^«v^'; "kyviirryis tm» 'EXtvcrmuv, Hesych. Thus 
again we learn from Tertullian that they initiated men into the rites of Isis 
and Mithra, " Nam et sacris quibusdam per lavacrum initiantur Isidis 



The First Apology of Justin Martyr, (79) 

to worship these demons,^ this is evidently done to mimic what 
they found commanded the prophet Moses ; for while Moses 
was feeding the sheep of his father-in-law in Arabia, he was 
commanded to go down into Egypt, and to bring out the 
people of Israel ; and our Christ talked with him out of the 
bush in the appearance of fire, and said, " Put off thy shoes, 
and come and hear " (Ex. iii. 5). And accordingly he put off 
his shoes, and went and heard that he was to go down into 
Egypt, and conduct the Israelites from thence ; and being 
appointed with prodigious power by that Christ Who conversed 
with him out of the bush of fire, he went and brought the 
people out, doing great and astonishing actions ; the particulars 
of which, if you have a mind to it, you may exactly see in his 
own writings. 

LXXXII. But all the modern Jews teach that it was the 
unnameable God who thus conversed with Moses, upon which 
account the prophetic Spirit, by the mouth of the prophet 
Isaiah, reprehends them in these words already quoted, " The 
ox knoweth the owner, and the ass his master's crib ; but Israel 
doth not know me, My people hath not understood me " 
(Isa. i. 3). And because the Jews were ignorant what the 
Father and the Son were, Jesus Christ Himself thus corrects 
them, " No man knoweth the Father but the Son, nor the 
Son, but them to whom the Son will reveal Him " (Matt. 
xi. 27). But as I have said, the Logos of God is His Son, and 
is also called Angel and Apostle ; for He Himself did deliver, 

alicujus et Mithras," de Bapt. c. 5 ; the chief priest of that goddess (as 
Apuleius describes his own initiation), Milesi. II. citat. a Seldeno de 
success, ad leg, Hczbr. c. 26, leading the party to be initiated to the next 
bath, where having first delivered him to the usual washing, and asked 
pardon of the goddess, he sprinkled him all about, and bringing him back 
to the temple, after two parts of the day were spent, placed him before 
the feet of the goddess. See more on this subject in Grotius upon Matt. 
xxviii. 19. 

^ Vid. Tertul. Apol. c. 40. 



(8o) The First Apology of Justin Martyr. 

as an angel or messenger/ what the world was to know, and 
acted as an apostle, as one sent to interpret the divine will, as 
our Lord Himself has testified, " He that heareth me, heareth 
Him that sent me " (Matt. x. 40). The same is also evident 
from the Mosaic writings, where we have these words, "And 
the angel of God spake unto Moses in a flame of fire out of 
the midst of a bush, and said, I Am that I Am, the God of 
Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God 
of your fathers ; go down into Egypt, and bring up My people 
from thence" (Ex. iii. 2, 14, 15). If you are desirous of 
knowing what follows, I must refer you to the Scriptures them- 
selves, for it is not possible to transcribe all into a discourse of 
this nature. 

LXXXIII. But these words were spoken to demonstrate the 
Son of God and Apostle to be our Jesus Christ, who is the 
pre-existing Logos ; Who appeared sometimes in the form of 
fire, sometimes in the likeness of angels, and in these last days 
was made man by the will of God for the salvation of man- 
kind, and was contented to suffer what the devils could inflict 
upon Him by the infatuated Jews ; who, notwithstanding they 
have these express words in the writings of Moses, "And the 
angel of the Lord spake with Moses in a flame of fire out of 
the bush, and said, I Am that I Am, the Self-existent, the God 
of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob ; " 
notwithstanding this, I say, they affirm these words to be 
spoken by God the Father and Maker of all things. For 
which oversight the prophetic Spirit thus charges them, " Israel 
hath not known me, My people have not understood me ; " 
and as I have said, Jesus taxed them again for the same thing 
while He was amongst them, " No man hath know^n the 

1 Christ is called the Angel (Exod. iii. 2), but nowhere the Apostle (as 
Dr. Grabe observes), but in the Epistle to the Hebrews, iii. i, from 
whence he justly concludes that this Epistle was known to, and approved 
by, Justin Martyr. 



The First Apology of Jnstin Martyr. (8 1 ) 

Father but the Son, nor the Son, but them to Whom the Son 
will reveal Him." The Jews therefore, for maintaining that 
it was the Father of the universe Who had the conference 
with Moses, when it was the very Son of God Who had it, 
and Who is styled both Angel and Apostle, are justly accused 
by the prophetic Spirit, and Christ Himself, for knowing neither 
the Father nor the Son ; for they who affirm the Son to be 
the Father are guilty of not knowing the Father, and likewise 
of being ignorant that the Father of the universe has a Son, 
Who being the Logos and First-begotten of God is God.^ 
And He it is Who heretofore appeared to Moses and the 
rest of the prophets, sometimes in fire and sometimes in the 
form of angels ; but now, under your empire, as I mentioned, 
was born of a virgin, according to the will of His Father, 
to such as should believe in Him, and was content to be 
made of no reputation, and to suffer, that by His death and 
resurrection He might conquer death. And whereas it was 
said to Moses out of the bush, " I Am that I Am, the God 
of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, and the 
God of your fathers ; " the design of these words is to prove 
that, notwithstanding these men were dead, yet were they in a 
state of happiness ; and that Christ is the God of these men, 
and their mighty deliverer ; for these men of old sequestered 
themselves from the world to seek after God ; and as Moses 
relates, Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father 
of Jacob. 

LXXXIV. Moreover, that it was a contrivance of the devils 
to erect the image of Kdre upon fountains of water, whom they 
reported to be Jove's daughter, to ape Moses, you may easily 
collect from what I have quoted before : " In the beginning 

^ '* Who being the Logos, and First-begotten of God, ««) ddi v'rup^if^u, 
is God." I desire to know what the worst of Justin's adversaries can say to 
this ; whether words can be more express for the divinity of the Son than 
Ku) 6-1; v-rdpxu, ** He is the very God." 



(82) The First Apology of Jnstin Martyr. 

God created the heaven and the earth, and the earth was 
without form, and the Spirit of God moved upon the face 
of the waters." In imitation of this Spirit moving upon 
the waters, they set up the idol Kore or Proserpina upon 
the waters, and gave her out to be the daughter of Jove. 
Just such another forgery was the setting up Minerva for 
Jove's daughter, not by any carnal mixture, but because 
they found that God, reflecting upon Himself, made the world 
by His Logos or Wisdom, they framed this Minerva to be 
the issue of Jove's brain, or his first-begotten notion. Though 
I cannot but think it extremely ridiculous to represent the 
notion of a mind by the form of a woman. In hke manner, 
the actions which are attributed to the sons of Jove evidently 
proves the sons to be of the same stamp with the daughters. 

LXXXV. After the believer is baptized, and so incorporated 
or made one with us, we lead him to the congregation of the 
brethren, as we call them, and then with great fervency pour 
out our souls in common prayers ^ both for ourselves, for the 

^ Koivu; il^k; ^aiijffeifitivoi — ^etvra-^ov ^dvreov ivrovu;. They are Called 
common prayers, because the whole congregation did join with the bishop 
in them. This therefore must be a set form of prayer, or else they could 
not join in it ; and therefore St. Cyprian, speaking of the Lord's Prayer, 
which was that form which the whole congregation repeated together, says, 
"Publicaest nobis et communis oratio : a public and common prayer is 
in use among us." Cypr. de Orat. Doniin. What this form of prayer 
was, Justin does not tell us, but he tells us in general, '* that they prayed 
for themselves, for the person baptized, and for all others all the world 
over," etc. More particulars of this Liturgy you may see quoted out of 
the Apostolic Constitutions by Dr. Grabe in his notes upon this place. But 
I observe that Irenaeus is as shy as Justin of publishing the forms in any 
of the Christian Offices, though he speaks both of baptism and of the 
Eucharist, and of the prayers and praises there in general. Only when 
some heretics had drawn false conclusions from the Doxology to support 
their own opinions he is forced to say, 'AxXa x.au rifzoi; W) ret; ivxt^pia-riu; 
XiyovTcc;, il; tov; etluvec; ruv etiuvuv, *' They allege that we in our thanks- 
givings do say, world without end." Iren. ad adv. Hcbv. \. i, c. i. p. 1 6. 



The First Apology of Justin Martyr. (83) 

person baptized, and for all others all the world over ; that 
having embraced the truth, our conversation might be as 
becometh the Gospel, and that we may be found doers of the 
world, and so at length be saved with an everlasting salvation. 
Prayers being over, we salute each other with a kiss.^ After 

From hence we may conclude that in Irenaeus's time, A.D. 179, the Chris- 
tians praised God in public by this very form which we now use, " Glory 
be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost : as it was in the 
beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen." And 
TertuUian, in his Apology, frequently says, **We pray for the emperors 
and their ministers, for secular potentates," etc. And Clement says, " Let 
the deacon pray for the universal Church, the whole world, for the priests 
and governors, for the chief priests and kings, and the general peace," 
Constit. 1. 2, c. 51. And to mention but one more ; Cyril, declaring the 
practice of his time at the celebration of the Eucharist, says thus, £t/ t«,- 
(v(Tia.i iKiUm rov iXaa-fzov, etc. " Over this propitiatory sacrifice we call 
upon God for the general peace of all Churches, for the tranquillity of the 
world, for emperors, their armies, and all that fight for them," Catech. 10. 
Now that which I would infer from these quotations is this, that the 
primitive Fathers could not have insisted upon these particulars, as a proof 
of the Christian loyalty, and universal charity, if they had not constantly 
made these things the subjects of their prayers ; and if they had used 
no stated forms, extempore prayer had been too various and uncertain to 
have been a proof in this or any other case. 

^ The a.ya.-TTa.i OX love-feasts, which at first were always joined with the 
Eucharist, degenerating into abuse and scandal (which were the spots 
perhaps St. Jude alludes to), were soon laid aside in the Greek Church, and 
probably in the time of Justin, because he says nothing of them ; and the 
Lord's Supper was celebrated in the morning fasting. Though it is certain 
these feasts continued in the African Church till Tertullian's time, as you 
will find in his Apology, c. 39. However, that the blessed communion 
might still lay claim to the title of a love-feast, it was attended with cere- 
monies of the like import ; whence upon the entrance into this holy 
mystery the deacon was appointed to cry aloud, ft-yj ng kkto. tIvos, " Let no 
man be at strife one with another." And this proclamation once past, 
the holy kiss and embraces immediately followed, xXX^Xovi (fnx^f^an 
KiTxix.'C,'oy.-Ja, -TravffKfAivoi tmv ihx^^y that is, " Prayers ended, we salute one 
another with an holy kiss ; " . but dxxr,Xov; ol eiv^ptc, kk) xXX^Xa? «/ 
'yvvctTxis, " Men salute men, and women women, and the clergy the 
bishop," as the Constitutions have it, 1. ii. c. 57. And it could not 



(84) The First Apology of Justin Martyr, 

this, bread and a cup of wine and water are brought to the 
president or bishop/ which he takes, and offers up praise and 

indeed be well otherwise, considering the different apartments in the 
church for each sex. Const. Apost. 1. ii. c. 57. 

^ "'EfT£/T« Tpao'^ipiTiiti TO) <^poi(rTuri ruv a,oiX(puv, The "Tefoiffrui^ and the 
Probati Seniores in Tertullian, Apol, c. 39, and the Majores Natu in St. 
Cyprian, Epist. 75, were undoubtedly bishops, and so the o\ -TrpoiTTura 
-7rpi(T(->vripot in St. Paul, I Tim. v. 17, which we translate, though I think 
not well, " ruling elders," were the same with -^poiffTu; in Justin ; such elders 
as had the power " Baptizandi et manuum imponendi et ordinandi : of 
baptizing, confirming, and ordaining," as Cyprian assures us, privileges 
never pretended to at that time by lay elders. Nor were they presbyters 
as distinct from bishops, but bishops in chief, and presbyters in a fraternal 
consociation: for thus the same Father, Epist. 6, "a primordio Epis- 
copatus mei statui nihil sine consilio vestro privata sententia gerere ; 
from the beginning of my episcopate I resolved to do nothing of my own 
head without your advice ; " which shows that the presbyters were 
admitted as joint-commissioners, but did nothing without leave from the 
bishop ; for without his leave neither Presbyters nor deacons were per- 
mitted to baptize, except in cases of necessity, as not only Ignatius but 
Tertullian expressly tells us, Epist. ad Sinynieos, p. 6 ; Tert. de Bapt. 
c. 17, p. 230. And we find in Tertullian that they never received the 
sacrament but from the hand of the president, de Cor. Mil. c. 3, p. 102, 
which must either be understood of the particular custom of the African 
Church, or of consecration only. For here in Justin Martyr we find that 
when the bishop or president had consecrated the sacramental elements by 
solemn prayers and blessings, the custom was for the deacon to distribute 
them to the people, both to the absent as well as present. See more 
of the word Tpoiffrug in that excellent treatise of Dean Hickes concerning 
"The Dignity of the Episcopal Order," p. 182. 'rorripiov v^aros kou 
Kpa.i/.ccTo;, etc. That wine mixed with water was constantly made use of by 
the primitive Christians is beyond dispute from this passage, and likewise 
from Dr. Grabe's notes upon Irenseus, 1. v. c. 2. The reason of this 
mixture was partly in imitation of our Saviour's act in the first institution of 
the Eucharist, agreeable to the custom of that warm climate, which used to 
temper the heat of the wine with water ; and partly because that when 
our Saviour's side was pierced with a lance, there issued out both water 
and blood (John xix. 34). And agreeable to this primitive practice, "a little 
pure and clear water " was put into the chalice of wine at the Reformation, as 
you may see in the Rubric of the Communion Office of the first Common 
Prayer-Book of Edward VI. The bread and the wine and water, Tpo(T(pipi'ra.i 



The First Apology of Jit st in Martyr. (85) 

glory to the Father of all things, through the name of His 
Son and the Holy Spirit ; and this thanksgiving ^ to God for 

Tw TponrruTt, " are brought to the bishop." These words seem to me to make 
for that practice which Dr. Hickes, with such incomparable zeal and 
learning, argues for in his preface against *' the Rights ; " for he tells us, 
" that in the alterations made in the Office for administering the Lord's 
Supper, in King Edward VI. 's Service-Book, the Rubric was left out, 
which commanded the minister * to set the bread and wine upon the altar,' 
as an offering ; but this Rubric was restored in the Office for the Church of 
Scotland, and likewise in the Office of Holy Communion of our present 
Liturgy, established by the Act of Uniformity after the Restoration." And 
having justly censured the general neglect of this act, and the great 
indecency of having the bread and wine placed upon our Lord's table by 
the clerk, sexton, or perhaps some unfitter person, he adds, "that this 
practice of the officiating priests setting the bread and wine in the sight of 
the people, with reverence upon the holy table, was so inviolably observed 
in ancient times, that they had in their churches a buffet or sideboard on 
the right or left hand of the altar, upon which a priest or deacon set the 
bread and wine, from whence they were carried by the deacon or priest, 
when there were two, to the officiating priest, who reverently placed ihem 
as an offering on the Lord's table." This sideboard for the elements and 
holy vessels was called in the Greek Church Tpohffis, in the Latin Church 
Paratorium, and in Italy Credenza, in France Credence. And this ancient 
Credenza or side-table was made one article against Archbishop Laud, to 
prove that he endeavoured " to subvert God's true religion by law estab- 
lished in this realm, and instead thereof to set up popish superstition and 
idolatry." But I refer you to the excellent preface aforesaid, pp. 52, 53, 
etc., where you will find this at large, with many other discoveries truly 
valuable. 

1 Our blessed Saviour at the institution of the Sacrament is said to have 
taken bread and wine and blessed them, ivXoy^a-et;, xa.) il^.ttpiffrrKru; (Matt. 
xxvi. 26, 27 ; Mark xiv. 22, 23), but the form of blessing is not recorded 
by the evangelists, nor any of the apostles. However, the primitive Fathers 
concluded that Christ did as the Jews were wont to do ; the Passover was 
a sacrifice, and therefore the viands here, as in all other feasts, were first 
offered to God. Now the bread and wine which our Saviour took, when 
He blessed and gave thanks, was the Mincha, or meat-oflering of the 
Passover. If, then, Christ did as the Jews used to do, He agnized His 
Father, and blessed Him, by oblation of these His creatures unto Him ; 
using the like or the same form of words, " Blessed be Thou, O Lord our 
God, the King of the world. Which bringest forth bread out of the earth : " 



(86) TJie First Apology of Justin Martyr. 

vouchsafing us worthy of these His creatures, is a prayer ot 
more than ordinary length. When the bishop has finished 
the prayers and the thanksgiving service, i all the people present 

and over the wine, " Blessed be Thou, O Lord our God, the King of the 
world, Which Greatest the fruit of the vine." Vide Mede, p. 375, and Dr. 
Grabe's notes upon this place. In the Christian sacrifice there were. two 
distinct parts, the ivxO'pto'Tta, " Thanksgiving " to God for His good 
creatures of bread and wine ; and ilxoylx, " Invocation " of His blessing 
upon them. That these two were distinct things, the consecration of the 
elements made with thanksgiving, not by it, but with blessing joined with 
thanksgiving, in one continued prayer, or in two distinct forms ; this, 
I say, is evident both from Justin in his Dialogue with Trypho, and from 
this place ; in his Dialogue he describes the Eucharist or thanksgiving 
part thus, 'O xvpios Tecpi^uxtf 'tvx ccfjitx, n ih^upKrrufjciv rZ 6iw v9ro rov rey 
x'offjtov tKTixiyoa ffvv 'Xa.ffi toI? Iv eivrZ oia rov a.v0po^ov, xa) vTo rod d-TTo tJj; 
Kxxixs iv n ytyovifjt.iv IkivhpMXivut iif/.as, xai ru; xp^ct;, xa) rxg i^ovffia,?, 
xaTCiXiXuxivai ri?^uav xctvaKviriv ^loc rov tethrov yivofjt-'ivov Kara rnv fiovXr.v 
xu-ov, " The Lord hath commanded that together we should give thanks 
to God for the creation of the v/orld, and all things therein for the benefit 
of man ; and for delivering us from the misery wherein we were born, and 
for His destroying principalities and powers with a perfect destruction, by 
Him "Who suffered according to His will." And elsewhere he says, " That 
prayers and thanksgivings made by those that are worthy are the only 
sacrifices that are perfect and acceptable." And these he says (speaking 
of the Eucharist) It elvafAi^(rii 5s rvs rpo<pyi5 cchruv ^fipei; ri xa.) vypa,;, 
iv « xx] rov fahvi cr'i'Xovh 5/ xvrov hos rov hou f/,ifiV7irxi. " In that 
thankful remembrance of their food both dry and wet, wherein also is 
commemorated the passion which the God of God suffered by Himself." 
And so again in this place of the Apology, ivxxpiar'ixv Tpo rov xxm^iutrSxt 
rovruv, etc. ' ' That God did vouchsafe them worthy of bread and 
wine." So that in the Eucharist we have a twofold commemoration ; the 
one of our meat and drink, by agnizing and recording God to be the 
Lord and Giver of the same, in opposition to those heretics who denied 
Him to be the Maker of the world ; the other an 'Ava^vjjc-/?, or commemora- 
tion, in the same bread and wine, of the passion of the Son of God ; but 
for a fuller explanation of this I refer to the G^eat Duty of frequenting 
the Christian Sacrifice, written by the author of The Fasts and Festivals. 
As to the ilxoy'ix, the invocation of a blessing or consecratory part, I shall 
speak of that presently. 

^ 'Evx,xi xx) rhv ivp^xptffrixv. Here, besides the thanksgiving or prayer 
Eucharistical, we find other prayers, but what they were Justin says not, 



The First Apology of Justin Martyr. (^^) 

conclude with an audible voice, saying Amen.^ Now Amen 
in the Hebrew tongue is, " So it be." The Eucharistical 

but no doubt he means the prayer of consecration ; for when Christ so 
solemnly took bread and wine, sJxo^wVa?, "calling upon God for His 
blessing;" kou eJ-^a^/o-Tso-aj, "and giving thanks," and commanding this 
to be done in remembrance of Him until His second coming ; it cannot 
be supposed, I say, that He used a common form of grace, as at other 
ordinary meals, but had a peculiar form, with relation to those ends for 
which He instituted this holy feast. Accordingly all the ancient Liturgies, 
not to mention that of Basil or Chrysostom ; the Clementine Constitu- 
tions, elder than both, are very express to this purpose, where, having 
premised the words of institution, he adds : 'A|/o2^£v ait 'otui iu/u.svu; 
iTsfiXiTfjs i'f^ TO, ^poxiifAiva ^uffo. raZra, IvtuTtov ffov, tru o otvivhiris hog' koc) xktci- 
vifjt.-^yii TO olyiov ffov "Xvivfjix l^} tjjv ^vfflxv Txvryiv /u.a.pTvpa tuv ■^a^fif^.oiTeuv rod 
KVpiov Iriffov o'Tu; a'Tfo^tivri rov oiprov ffuf^a too "Kpiffrou ffov xa,i to TOT'/ipiov tovto 
alfjLo. Tov XpiffTov ffov, etc. ** We beseech Thee that Thou wouldest 
graciously be pleased to look down upon these oblations presented before 
Thee, Thou God that wantest nothing, and send down Thy Holy Spirit 
upon this sacrifice, commemorative of the sufferings of our Lord Jesus, 
that this bread may be unto us the body of Thy Christ, and this cup the 
blood of Thy Christ." Agreeable to this primitive form of invocation is 
that in the Scotch and English Liturgy in the First Book of Edward VI., 
where, after these words, " Hear us, O merciful Father, we beseech Thee," 
it follows, "And with Thy Holy Spirit and Word vouchsafe to bless and 
sanctify these Thy creatures and gifts of bread and wine, that they may be 
unto us the body and blood of Thy most dearly beloved Son Jesus Christ, 
Who in the same night," etc. 

^ Ua; Xa.oi i<Tiv(pnXu /u-iyav \\uy,v. Here we see that the president 
alone pronounced the prayer, and the people ended with the acclamation 
of Amen ; which further proves it to be the consecrating prayer, which 
none but the minister had authority to pronounce. For, as Dr. Potter 
observes in his learned discourse of Church Government, p. 249, '* In 
the former prayers the people repeated xotv'^ -ravri; " (as Justin has it), *'all 
together," following the minister, and for a proof of this he refers to the 
ancient Liturgies, particularly to the Apostolic Constitutions, 1. viii. c. 6, 
8, 9, II, and elsewhere. And moreover adds, that "this distinction seems 
to be made in Scripture, where, when our Lord consecrates the Eucharist, 
He alone is said to bless or to give thanks ; whereas in the Acts iv. 24, 
when prayer is made, wherein the whole assembly are equally concerned, 
we are told, 'they lift up their voice with one accord.'" And this I 
the rather take notice of, because I generally find the common people 



(88) The First Apology of Jiistin Martyr. 

office being thus performed by the bishop, and concluded 
with the acclamation of all the people, those we call deacons 
distribute to every one present to partake of this Eucharistical 
bread and wine and water, and then they carry it to the 
absent.^ 

LXXXVI. This food we call the Eucharist,^ of which none 
are allowed to be partakers, but such only as are true be- 

ignorantly joining not only in the consecration, but in the absolution also, 
both M'hich are peculiarly appropriated to the priestly office. 

1 * ' The deacons distribute to every one present, and then carry it to the 
absent." The custom of turning their backs upon the Lord's Supper was 
not known among the faithful in time of old ; and those who came to the 
sermon, and went out before the communion, were excommunicated ; 
" Laici fideles Ecclesiam ingredientes et Scripturas audientes, si non per- 
maneant in Precatione, et Sacra Communione egregantur," Can. Apost. 9. 
In the primitive Church so much bread and wine was taken from a large 
table as the officiating priest judged sufficient for the communicants. 
These elements thus separated from the rest were consecrated, and what 
remained after the communion was carried by the deacon to the sick, and 
sent about to absent friends, as pledges and tokens of love and agreement 
in the unity of the same faith. But because this carrying the sacramental 
elements up and down the world was thought not so well to comport with 
the reverence due to this sacred ordinance, it was abolished by the 
Laodicean Synod ; and the Eulogiae, or pieces of bread which remained of 
the offerings of the people, were appointed at Easter to be sent up and 
down in their room, Can. 14. One thing more is too obvious not to be 
noted in this place, namely, that the bread and wine, the communion in 
both kinds, was given to the laity, a practice so notorious, that even the 
patrons of dry communion have not the face to deny it. 

2 "This food we call the Eucharist, of which none are allowed to par- 
take but true believers." It was called the Eucharist, because thanksgiving 
was made to God for these benefits, and n5t from any words constituting 
consecration, as is commonly supposed. Here likewise is another instance 
of " Imperii in Imperio," of Church authority independent on the civil 
magistrate, and visible in a state of persecution ; which authority, there- 
fore, as it must always enjoy, so the exercise of it must especially appear 
when it is resolved into such a state again ; an authority of letting in and 
shutting out of Christian communion, according as the spiritual governors 
judge of the merits or demerits of the respective persons. 



The First Apology of Justin Martyr. (89) 

lievers, and have been baptized in the laver of regeneration 
for the remission of sins, and Hve according to Christ's pre- 
cepts j for we do not take this as common bread and common 
wine;^ but as Jesus Christ our Saviour was made. flesh by the 

^ " We do not take this as common bread and wine," etc. Justin Martyr 
just before had called the Eucharistical food after consecration, barely 
bread and wine, and here he says it is not common bread and wine, which 
shows that he thought it was still so in substance ; and then he goes on 
to illustrate the sanctification of the elements by the incarnation of Christ, 
in which the human nature did not lose its substance by its union with 
the divine ; so the bread and wine, according to this illustration, do not 
lose their proper substance when they become the flesh and blood of 
Christ. It must be acknowledged that the ancient Fathers, Justin Martyr 
and Irenceus in particular, do teach that in the Eucharist the bread and 
wine are by or upon consecration made the body and blood of Christ ; 
but then they explain themselves in such a manner as makes not the 
least for the doctrine of transubstantiation. Their notion in short was this, 
that as John the Baptist was said to be Elias because he was endued with 
the same spirit and power that Elias was, so upon the sacerdotal bene- 
diction the Spirit of Christ or a divine virtue descends upon the elements, 
and accompanies them to all worthy communicants, and therefore are said 
to be the body and blood of Christ ; the same divinity which is hypostati- 
cally united to the body and blood of Christ in heaven being virtually 
united to the elements of bread and wine upon earth. And this I have 
already proved to be the sense of all the ancient Liturgies, wherein it is 
prayed, " that God would send down His Holy Spirit upon His creatures 
of bread and wine in the Eucharist." But that transubstantiation was a 
thing never dreamed of, is evident from this very passage of Justin, where 
he says, \\ n? ou^a xat ffcipxss x«ra fisrafio^yiv rpi(povrat ri/Mv, " that our 
bodies are nourished, and that the bread and wine are turned into the 
substance of our bodies ; " which to affirm of the glorified body of Christ 
is certainly impious blasphemy. Moreover, our Justin in his most excellent 
Dialogue with Trypho the Jew, tells him that it was foretold by the prophets 
that the time was coming when they should no longer "offer upon the altar 
libations and sacrifices of blood," aXXa. a.Xvi6ivovs xa.) TvivfAccrixovs a-'Ivovs ««< 
iv;^apiffTtcis, " but true and spiritual praises and thanksgiving," p. 346. And 
he says, likewise, that the bread and wine in the sacrament was u; ava^a- 
vviffiv rod ffeofACtTO'yfoiyKrciff^ai — kui lU a.voi[/,vn(Tiv rod alf^aro;, *' in commemora- 
tion of His body and blood ; " and that it was generally styled by the 
ancients «va/^«xT«,- Pviria, "an unbloody sacrifice," is too notorious to be 



(qo) The First Apology of Jnstin Martyr, 

Logos of God, and had real flesh and blood for our salva- 
tion, so are we taught that this food, which the very same 
Logos blessed by prayer and thanksgiving, is turned into the 
nourishment and substance of our flesh and blood,^ and is in 
some sense the flesh and blood of the incarnate Jesus.^ For 
the apostles, in their commentaries called the Gospels,^ have 
left this command upon record, " That Jesus took bread, and 

denied ; and if so, it is not possible they should conceive it to be the 
very body and blood of Christ. He that desires to see more upon this 
subject may consult Dr. Grabe's notes upon the place, and Bishop Bull's 
answer to the Bishop of Meaux's letter to Mr. Nelson. 

^ T>jv ^/ iv'X^i "k'oyov Tcv -raf xvtou iu;;^^xpiirryi^i7(r(x.v rpo^viv. This passage 
is something dark and difficult. Hamon 1' Estrange translates it thus : 
" Those viands by which our flesh and blood are nourished being blessed 
by the prayer and thanksgiving of the priest," etc. But this cannot be 
the literal translation, for here is not one word of a priest mentioned, nor 
a tittle of the main difficulty explained, which is, the §/ sJ;^55j Xoyov roZ 
fftf avTov. Dr. Grabe thinks Tm rov Xoyov lu^'^v signifies the Lord's 
Prayer, with which the sacrament was always concluded. Fu/. note, p. 
127. But the bread and wine was not consecrated by the Lord's Prayer, 
and these words seem to respect the very act of consecration. Justin imme- 
diately before had said, that Jesus Christ or the Logos was made flesh by 
the Logos of God, and here he says that the bread and wine was made 
the body and blood of Christ "by the prayer of the very same Logos," 
where the Koyov rov '^rap avroZ seems to me to be the Xoyos Tpopopixos, or 
external word issuing from the substantial Word or Logos Himself, and 
then the construction will be thus, ^/' iu^^s koyou tou -rxp' al/rou koyov 
ovffiu^ovs. And this way of speaking is very familiar with Justin, as you 
may see by Christ's being said to have been made flesh by the Logos in 
the words just before. 

^ 'ifjtrov xa.) aapxa, xa.) cuf^a. i^i^oix^yif/.iv. Dr. Grabe upon these words 
observes that the Right Reverend the Bishop of Sarum says, "that it is 
not to be denied, but that very early both Justin Martyr and Irenoeus 
thought that there was such a sanctification of the elements, that there 
was a divine virtue in them." Artie, xxviii. p. 334. 

^ The commentaries of the apostles called Gospels. 'A-ro^.vw^ovst/'^a-a, 
or commentaries, were such sayings of wise men as were got by heart 
and committed to memory, and the Gospels being a summary of the words 
and actions of our Saviour so committed and repeated to the amanuenses, 
were called ' AToju.v/if/.ovii)f/.a,Tce,. lid. Dr. Cirabe, n. 58. 



The First Apology of Jttslin Martyr, (91) 

when He had given llianks, He said, Do this in commemora- 
tion of Me, for this is My body : and in Uke manner He took 
the cup, and when He had given thanks, He said, This is My 
blood," and deHvered it to them only.^ And this very solemnity, 
too, the evil spirits have introduced in the mysteries of Mithra ; ^ 
for you do, or may know, that when any one is initiated into 
this religion, bread and a cup of water, with a certain form of 
words, are made use of in the sacrifice. After this sacrament 
is over, we remind each other of the obligations to his duty, 
and the rich relieve the poor; and upon such charitable 
accounts we visit some or other every day. 

LXXXVn. And in every Eucharistical sacrifice we bless the 
Maker of all things through His Son Jesus Christ, and through 
the Holy Spirit.^ And upon the day called Sunday,-^ all that 

1 Matt. xxvi. 26; Mark xiv. 22 ; Luke xxii. 19, etc. 

2 For a fuller explanation of the mysteries of Mithra or the Sun, I refer 
the reader not only to the references in Dr. Grabe's notes, but also to Dr. 
Hickes's Christian Priesthood Asserted^ where he will find that the ministers 
of baptism and the Holy Eucharist were TiXiariti, as Pollux calls priests, 
even as proper priests, as the priests of Mithra or the Sun, were by his 
worshippers to be, p. 55- 

2 Hitherto Justin has described the rites of the first communion after 
baptism ; he proceeds now in short to show that they observed the same 
order in every Eucharistical sacrifice, and therefore the same notes will in 
a great measure serve for both. 

* TJi Toi) hxiov Xiyofx-ivyi vifitpa, " upon the day called Sunday." It was 
called Sunday by Justin and Tertullian, because it happened upon that day 
of the week which by the heathens was dedicated to the sun, and there- 
fore as being best known to them by that name, the Fathers commonly 
made use of it in their Apologies to the heathen emperors ; but the more 
proper and prevailing name was Kvptccxh, or the Lord's Day, as it is called 
by St. John himself (Rev. i. 10). This day was so strictly set apart by 
the ancients for public devotion, that the Synod of Illiberis ordained that 
if any man dwelling in a city (where churches were near at hand) should 
for three Lord's days keep from church, he should for some time be sus- 
pended the communion, Ca/i. xxi. p. 28. And when Eustachius, Bishop 
of Sebastia, began to fling oft" the discipline of the Church, and to intro- 



(92) TJie Firsl Apology of Justin Martyr, 

live eiriier in city or country meet together at the same place, 
where the writings of the apostles and prophets are read, as 
much as time will give leave.^ When the reader has done, the 
bishop makes a sermon,^ wherein he instructs the people, and 
animates them to the practice of such lovely precepts. At 
the conclusion of this discourse, we all rise up together and 
pray ; ^ and prayers being over, as I now said, there is bread 

(luce some odd whimsies of his own, and among many others to fast on 
the Lord's day, and keep meetings in private houses, leading many away 
captive, but especially silly women, as Sozomen observes, 1. iii. c. 14, p. 
521 ; the bishops no sooner understood it, but meeting in council at 
Gangra, about the year 340, condemned and cast them out of the Church, 
passing these two canons among the rest, "If any one shall teach that 
the house of God is to be despised, and the assemblies that are held in it, 
let him be accursed. If any shall take upon him out of the church to 
preach privately at home, and making light of the church, shall do those 
things that belong only to the church, without the presence of the priest, 
and the leave and allowance of the bishop, let him be accursed." Cone. 
Gangr. Can. 4, 5. 

1 " The commentaries of the apostles and the writings of the prophets 
are read, as much as time will give leave." The Christian meetings were 
often disturbed and broken up by their heathen enemies ; and so neither 
Justin nor Tertullian says what portions either of the Old or New Testament 
were read at one meeting ; but afterwards set portions out of each were 
assigned, two lessons out of both, as we find it in the author of the 
Apostolical Constitutions, 1. ii. c. 57, p. 875. 

'^ "The bishop makes a sermon." The sermons in these times were 
nothing else but expositions of some part of the Scriptures then read, and 
exhortations to the people to obey the doctrines contained in them, and 
generally upon the lesson last read, as being freshest in their minds. Ac- 
cording as opportunity served, these sermons were more or fewer, some- 
times two or three at the same assembly, the presbyters first, and then 
the bishoj:), as is expressly affirmed in the Apostolical Constitutions. Ka) 
£^»5f Tapa,Ka,XitTei>(n\) 01 <rpi(r(hvripot tov Xetov xot,h)? uvtuv, uXXa fi*i oc^retvri;, 

KO.) TtXlUTOUOi <7rdvTU)) t'Tr'nTKO'TOi «J 'iOiKl KofhipVYiTVI, 1. xl. C. 57> P- ^63, 

edit. Cleric. "Then " (that is, after the reading of the Gospel) " let the 
presbyters exhort the people one by one, not all at once ; and last of all 
the bishop, as it is fitting for the master to do." 

^ " We all rise up together and pray." From this place of Justin, and 
from Tertullian, de Coron, c. 3, p. 102, it is evident that, whereas the 



The First Apology of Justin Martyr. (93) 

and wine and water offered, and the bishop, as before, sends 
up prayers and thanksgivings with all the fervency he is able,^ 
and the people conclude all with the joyful acclamation ol 
Amen. Then the consecrated elements are distributed to, 

Christians upon other days prayed kneeling, yet upon Sundays they always 
prayed standing ; and the reason of this we find in the author of the 
Questions and Answers in Justin Martyr, Resp. ad Quest. 115, p. 468. It 
is (says he) that by this posture we may be put in mind both of our fall 
by sin, and our restitution by the grace of Christ ; that for six days wc 
pray upon our knees is to remind us of our fall by sin ; but that on the 
Lord's Day we pray standing, is to represent our restitution, by which, 
through the grace of Christ, we are delivered from our sins and the powers 
of death. And the great Council of Niccea, taking notice that this custom 
began to be neglected, ordained that on the Lord's Day men should stand 
when they offered up their prayers to God. Can. 20. 

■^ 'Eiuy^ki ofjt-olui tccci ih^apiiTTict,; oiT'/i "^vvcc/u,!; uLtui ocvccTTif^'^rii, " The bishop 

sends up prayers and thanksgivings with all the fervency he is able." This 
passage is greedily fastened upon by many of our dissenting brethren 
against stated forms of prayer in the primitive Church, and particularly by 
Mr. David Clarkson in his Discourse concerning Liturgies, and is cited twice 
over, p. 68 and p. 115, where he marvellously pleases himself, with very 
little reason, for near ten pages in quotations, to make this speak ' ' for 
inventing words as the Spirit enabled them, or praying ex tempore.'''' I 
cannot but observe from hence how much these old Fathers are made of 
by some men, if they can but be forced to cast a kind look towards them ; 
and then again by fits, how musty and despicable they are, when they 
speak too plain to be misinterpreted. But to the case in hand. First, then, 
I say that otrn 'hvva./ji.is is a doubtful expression, and twice before in this 
Apology (as I have advertised the reader) is used in a sense quite different 
from this of Mr. Clarkson, and therefore at best can be but a doubtful 
proof, till he can make out his sense to be the plain and only sense of this 
phrase. Secondly, if this be the sense, it will not follow that because in 
Justin's age, — an age of casting out devils, and praying by the Spirit in 
order to proselytise the world, — therefore now, when the world is prose- 
lytised, and the gift of power and miracles is over, every private minister is 
enabled to pray by the same Spirit. But then, thirdly, I think it must 
signify otherwise in this very place, for otrn Ivva.fjbn here plainly answers to 
iVTovu;, sect. Ixxxv., where all the congregation is said to join in common 
prayers for the new baptized person, etc., iIt'ovu? "M'ith all intention of 
mind and affections ; " and by common prayers we can hardly understand 
anything else than set forms of prayer, in opposition to ex tempore efifu- 

I 



94) ^/^^ First Apology of J^isttn Ma7'tyr. 

and partaken of by all that are present, and sent to the absent 
by the hands of the deacons. 

LXXXVIII. But the wealthy and the willing, for every one 
is at liberty, contribute as they think fitting ; and this collec- 
tion is deposited with the bishop, and out of this he relieves 
the orphan and the widow, and such as are reduced to want, 
by sickness or any other cause, and such as are in bonds, and 
strangers that come from far ; and, in a word, he is the guardian 
and almoner to all the indigent. 

LXXXIX. Upon Sunday we all assemble, that being the 
first day in which God set Himself to work upon the dark 
void, in order to make the world, and in which Jesus Christ 
our Saviour rose again from the dead j for the day before 
Saturday^ He was crucified, and the day after, which is 

sions. Besides, it is observable that this phrase does not follow {'-'^x^^) 
prayers, but {svx»p'<^'ri^s) thanksgivings ; so that it is chiefly to be restrained 
to the hymns in the Eucharist, which were known forms ; and yet, says 
Justin, they were offered up otrtj Ivva/ai;. And section xvi., where we 
have his phrase s(p' «7j Tpo(T<pipof/.i^tx. ^atr/v, oV« Ivvaf/,!? echovvrs;, " in all our 
oblations praising God to the best of our power, "-he deals very disingenu- 
ously, by leaving out the comma between croia-iv and oa-'/j. Now this praising 
offn 1'j)ia,y.ti cannot be applied to the bishop only, but to all the congregation 
who joined in the public hymns with all possible fervency and devotion. 
But of all the quotations this author has brought to wrest this phrase to 
his purpose of ex tempore prayer, that out of Gregory Nazianzen is the 
most unhappy one, ^%fi otrn 'huvocfji.t; to l^riviKsov cc^afMv ixilvtjv ^Jt^hvj etc. 
"Come, let us with all intention of spirit chant that triumphant ode 
which sometime the Israelites sang upon the overthrow of the Egyptians 
in the Red Sea." Nazianzen here sets down the words which he would 
have them sing upon Julian's being cut off, and oVtj ^vvKft-i; being precisely 
limited to iKiUnv sJS^v, that song in Ex. xv. ; this, I say, utterly shuts out 
all arbitrary conceptions, and determines the signification of this phrase, 
as, I think, beyond exception. 

^ '* The day before Saturday." Justin uses this circumlocution instead 
of Die Veneris, because he abhorred the very name of Venus ; and the 
Fathers were so chaste in word as well as thought, that they would not 



The First Apology of Justin Martyr, (95) 

Sunday, He appeared to His apostles and disciples, and 
taught them what I have now proposed to your consideration. 

XC. And so far as these things shall appear agreeable to 
truth and reason, so far we desire you would respect them 
accordingly, but if they seem trifling, despise them as trifles ; 
however, do not proceed against the professors of them, who 
are people of the most inoffensive lives, as severely as against 
your professed enemies ; for, tell you I must, that if you 
persist in this course of iniquity, you shall not escape the 
vengeance of God in the other world. But be this as it will, 
you shall hear us contentedly cry out, " God's will be done." 
And although we might produce the rescript of your father, 
the great and illustrious Emperor Adrian, to plead in our 
behalf for the moderating your proceedings according to that 
rule of equity we ourselves have proposed, yet we shall not 
insist so much upon the authority of Adrian as the justice of 
our demands, which was the reason of composing this Apology 
and Exposition of the Christian faith. However, we have 
subjoined a copy of Adrian's Epistle, to let you see the truth 
and justice of our cause. And the copy is this: — 



THE 

RESCRIPT OF ADRIAN FOR THE CHRISTIANS 

TO 

MINUTIUS FUNDANUS.i 

I RECEIVED a letter from the illustrious Serenus Granianus, 
your predecessor. It is an affair well worthy your considera- 

take the name of Venus within their lips, but in order to refute the 
heathen idolatry. See Dr. Grabe's notes upon this place. 

^ The Apologies of Aristides, but especially that of Quadratus, had so 



(96) The First Apology of Justin Martyr, 

tion to put a stop to vexatious suits, and to give no handle 
to informers to carry on the trade of malice.^ If, then, the 
people under your government have anything to say against 
Christians, and will prove it in public, so that Christians may 
answer for themselves in open court, it is your duty to hear 
them in a judicial way only, and not to be overborne by the 
petitions and tumultuary clamours of the people ; for it is your 
place, and not the mob's, to judge of the merits of the cause. 
If, therefore, the informer shall make it appear that Christians 
have done anything contrary to law, punish them according to 
the quality of the crime ; so verily on the other hand, if you 
find it to be a malicious charge only, take care to condemn 
and punish as the malice deserves. 

good an effect upon the Emperor Adrian that they procured this rescript 
in favour of the Christians ; for Serenus Granianus wrote to Adrian, as 
Pliny before had done to Trajan, concerning the intolerable and unjust 
persecutions of the Christian sect, and being either dead just after, or 
out of his office (which was but annual), Adrian directs this answer to 
Minutius Fundanus, his successor in the Proconsulship of Asia. This 
rescript was annexed by Justin to this Apology in the Latin tongue, and 
translated by Eusebius into Greek, as he himself tells us, 1. iv. c. 8, Hist. 
Eccl. And, by the way, if St. Justin may be allowed Latin enough to 
understand this epistle, methinks it is hard not to allow him enough to 
understand the inscription upon the statue of Simon Magus. The Latin 
text preserved by that martyr is lost ; however, it is famous, and much 
talked of by the ancients ; it is cited by St. Melito, Euseb. 1. iv. c. 26 ; 
by Sulpicius Severus, 1. ii. c. 45 ; and by Orosius, 1. vii. c. 12. 

^ The subject of Granianus's letter seems evidently omitted in this 
place, and the Emperor's order only mentioned. And if Lampridius may 
be credited, as I see no reason why he may not for anything Casaubon has 
urged to the contrary, Adrian had a design, as Tiberius had before him, 
to set up the worship of Christ, and built up therefore several temples 
without any image, and without consecrating them to any god of the 
heathen, which therefore wxnt by the name of Adrian's temples. Lam- 
prid. Alex. v. p. 129. Vid. Memoirs, etc., par le Sieur D. Tillemont, 
torn. ii. p. 123. 



TJic First Apology of Justin Martyr. (97) 



THE LETTER OF ANTONINUS 

TO THE 

STATES OF ASIA.i 

The Emperor Caesar Titus yElius Adrianus Antoninus 
Augustus Pius, chief pontiff, the fifteenth time tribune, 
thrice consul, father of the country, to the common Assembly 
of Asia, greeting. I am of opinion that the gods will be 
sufficiently careful not to let this sort of men escape, for it 
is much more their concern than yours to make those the 
examples of justice, if they can, who refuse to worship them ; 
and while you thus harass them, and accuse them for atheists, 
and object other things against them, and are not able to 

1 We are told by an ancient ecclesiastical writer that this Apology of our 
martyr very much sweetened the spirit of Antoninus, Oros. 1. vii. c. 14. 
And being also seconded by addresses, and hideous complaints from the 
faithful in Asia, produced this letter from the Emperor to the States of 
Asia, and to those of Larissa, Thessalonica, Athens, and all Greece. He 
sent letters also in behalf of the Christians, though this alone to the States 
of Asia is yet extant. Vid. Euseb. 1. iv. c. 26. It is an answer to what 
the States had sent concerning the prosecution of Christians upon the 
account of earthquakes, which had then happened and were charged upon 
the Christians, as all misfortunes were. T am not ignorant that Scaliger, 
Valesius, and others would have this Imperial edict to be the decree of 
Marcus Aurelius, the son of Antoninus ; the inscription, indeed, as it 
stands in Euseb. 1. iv. c. 26, has Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ; but then 
this is most undeniably corrupted ; for just before, in the conclusion of the 
twenty-fifth chapter, he ascribes it to Antoninus Pius, and in the original 
inscription annexed to the Apology (and from whence Eusebius transcribed 
his) it is Titus ^lius Antoninus Pius. Besides, the tenor of the epistle 
itself seems plainly to give it to Antoninus ; and Melito, Bishop of Sardis, 
who presented an Apology to his son and successor, tells him of the letters 



(98) The First Apology of Jttstin Martyr, 

make good the charge, you do but harden them in their 
opinion ; for it makes mightily for them, or you cannot oblige 
them more, than to make them die for the religion they are 
accused of; for thus they triumph over you, by choosing 
rather to submit to death than to comply with your demands. 
As for earthquakes, either past or present, I advise you to be 
silent upon this head ; you who are desponding immediately 
upon these occasions, and laying all your calamities upon 
them, whereas they are more erect and confident in God upon 
such accidents. But you all this time seem to be perfect 
strangers to the gods, and to neglect their worship, nay, the 
worship of the great God Himself, and therefore mortally hate 
those who do worship Him, and persecute them to death for 
so doing. Concerning this sort of men, several governors 
of provinces have formerly written to my father of sacred 
memory, to whom he returned this answer : That such men 
should not be molested, unless they were found to attempt 

/ 
which his father, at the time he was his partner in the empire, wrote to 
the cities, that they should not raise any new troubles against the Chris- 
tians. Vid. Dr. Cave's Life of Justin, in English, p. 147. The objections 
against this opinion you may find in Dr. Grabe's notes, and in the notes at 
the end of his edition. 

This letter was sent, says Monsieur Tillemont, in the fifteenth year of 
Antoninus, that is, in the year of our Lord 152. — Vid. Memoirs, torn. ii. 
p. 390; says Dr. Cave in the year 140; and if it be objected that this 
seems not consistent with the year of his being tribune, said here to be the 
fifteenth, he answers that the tribunitian power did not always commence 
with the beginning of their reign, but was given sometimes to persons in a 
private capacity, and especially to such as v/ere candidates for the empire. 
Vid. Life of Justin, p. 146. Valesius fixes the date of the rescript in the 
first year of Marcus Aurelius, for which he is animadverted upon by 
Bishop Pearson, who refers it to the fifteenth of Aurelius. Vind. Lg. Epis. 
p. 2, n. 404. See Dr. Grabe's notes. In this state of uncertainty I shall 
leave this rescript, with this observation only, that we ought not to con- 
clude against the being of a thing because learned men dispute the time of 
its being, but just the contrary, viz. that such a thing really was, because 
there is so much dispute about it. 



The First Apology of Jtistin Marty 7^, (99) 

anything against the Roman Government, And I myself 
have received many letters upon the same subject, and I 
returned the same answer. So that if any one hereafter shall 
go on to inform against this sort of men, purely because they 
are Christians, let the persons accused be discharged, although 
they be found to be Christians, and let the informer himself 
undergo the punishment. 



MORRISON AND GIBB, PRINTERS, EDINBURGH. 

^I_W— 5/91. 



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